Return of the Missing
by Saya Hina Mae
Summary: Ukitake X OC. 40 years before Ichigo's time there was a girl in the seireitei that captured everyone's heart- but she went missing. Now, many hundred years later she has come back. Better summary inside. Takes place a while after the winter war.
1. Chapter 1 Lena Monoty

Hello! This is my second fanfiction (that I've posted online, that is). I hope you enjoy!

**Summary:** Many years ago, a man in the 13th division brought his little sister into the Seireitei. Her name was Len Monoty. Soon, everyone fell in love with her. But, after an attack, Lena went missing, not to be seen again. Now, it is a couple of hundred years later, and word comes to the captains of a girl going to graduate in only one year- her name being Lena Monoty, and because of the fact she graduated in one year she became the lieutenat of the 13th division.

_I do not own Bleach nor any of the characters, nor will I make any money off of this. I only own Kie and Lena. This is purely for entertainment._

* * *

><p><em><strong>Return of the Missing<strong>_

_**Chapter 1**_ Lena Monoty

"Sir, I have a request for you." Kie Monoty asked his captain, Jushiro Ukitake.

"Yes, Kie. What is it?" Ukitake asked patiently. Kie may have only been 11th seat, but he was liked by Ukitake- and by many. He was kind and always thought of others before himself.

"Well, you see, I've wanted to do this for a while but I wanted to get settled in first." He began, confusing Ukitake. "Well, I'm from Zaraki, and became a shinigami for my little sister. She is much younger than me, and I feel bad for leaving her there." He said, instantly clearing things up for Ukitake. "Do I have permission to, soon, go and get her?" He asked, nervous.

"Yes. I'll let you go tomorrow, if you like, so I'll have you be off tomorrow and the next day. Is that too soon, or is it good?" Ukitake asked, smiling softly.

"Yes, that's perfect!" Kie said, suddenly very happy. "So, tomorrow is perfect?" He checked, slightly sighing in relief when Ukitake nodded. "Okay, if I walk fast there will be a day of travel, so I'll either have to leave really early or run most of the way." Kie muttered to himself, figuring out his trip. "Thank you, Ukitake-taicho." He said, bowing and, when Ukitake nodded in response, he got up and left, planning on getting things ready for the trip.

-:-

"Lena! Where are you Lena?" Kie called, walking around. He was now currently in the 80th District, it was the evening of the day that he left, and he was trying to find his little sister, Lena.

"Lena! I have good news!" He said, hoping that she could hear. He had run into some people that he had talked to before he became a shinigami and they all said that Lena tended to stay in the house they had gotten.

Kie walked over to the house, opening it up and looking in. It looked like it was in fantastic condition. "Lena! Are you in here? It's me, Kie!" He called, walking in and closing the door behind him.

"Nii-chan!" He heard, right before he heard the patter of feet and a little girl was jumping onto him. "You're here!" She said, her arms around his neck. When she had jumped onto him, Kie had taken a step back to make sure that he didn't fall.

"Yes, Lena-chan. I'm here. I have brilliant news!" He said, putting Lena down and kneeling down in front of her so that his dark blue eyes met her bright, dark blue eyes. That was the only thing they had in common; they both had dark blue eyes. But while Kie had dark brown hair, Lena had always had light blonde hair, and recently, for a reason unknown to Kie, it had lightened even more and changed to being white, though she made it look good.

"What is it?" She asked, smiling widely and jumping up and down.

"Well, I've finally managed to get settled in, and I got permission, so I came here to get you to take you back to the Seireitei with me!" Kie said, smiling widely to match Lena's. Lena's eyes widened, her mouth opening into an "o".

"Really?" She asked, shocked. When he nodded, Lena smiled jumping into his arms and clinging onto him, happy. "Yay! I'm happy! I've missed you nii-chan." She jumped off, rocking forwards and backward on her feet and swinging her arms.

"Well, we don't actually have a timeline that we need to get back by. We just need to be back sometime tomorrow." Kie said, frowning and thinking about how this was going to work. "I wanted to get you back mid-day so that you had plenty of time to get used to things, but now that you are here I might have issues with Shunpo." He said, frowning in thought. "But to get here it took me almost a day to get here… So we should probably leave now, as much as I hate to do that." Kie's frown deepened in frustration.

"It's okay nii-chan. I can ride on your back." Lena said, smiling at her brother and patting his head.

"Yeah. We'll have to do that. Okay, Lena, get your things packed up." He said, making go around that house, putting things in a bag. He frowned when he saw her grab a sword. "So, I guess that you have slightly mastered using that katana?" He asked, frustrated. He didn't like that fact.

"Yeah, nii-chan. I need to be able to protect myself." Lena calmly said.

"I know. It's just that you've gotten in a world of violence that I've been trying to keep you out of."

"But, the problem with using that logic, nii-chan, is that this is a violent world. If I never learned how to attack then I will never know how to defend myself, meaning that I wouldn't last long." Lena said, putting her small bag down in front of Kie and looking extremely serious.

"I know, I know." He sighed. "Okay. Get on my back; I've got your bag." He said, grabbing her bag as she walked around him and got on his back, making sure to hold on tightly but not too tightly. "You ready back there?" Kie checked, slightly nodding in response when he heard her chipper yes. He walked outside, shunpoing.

-:-

Kie and Lena sat, sitting in front of a fire eating some fish that Kie had caught.

"We haven't been able to do this in a while, haven't we, nii-chan?" Lena asked, licking her lips and smiling at her brother.

"No, we haven't." Kie agreed. "Okay. Here is the game plane." Kie said after a couple of minutes. "We have gotten only to the 40th District, meaning after this we still need to travel some more. But, once we get to the 25th District we will stop and take a quick break. That way, I won't be falling asleep all the time tomorrow. Once I get my energy back we will make the rest of the trip." Kie smiled over at Lena. "You got that?" He checked, smiling when Lena replied with a cheerful yes.

After about half an hour, Lena got back onto Kie's back and they started off again.

-:-

Lena smiled and looked around, obviously very intrigued by what she was seeing, making Kie laugh at her and rub her head.

"Nii-chan! This is where all the shinigami live?" She asked in wonder as she fixed her hair.

"Yes, and now you too." He said, smiling. "Okay, we should probably go to my Division."

"Ooooh!" Lena said, amazed. "I forgot to ask! What Division are you in? Do you like it?" She said suddenly, grabbing her brother's hand and looking up at him.

"I'm in the 13th Division, and yes, I like it there. I am the 11th seat there." He said, getting a blank look from Lena. "Okay, there are 20 seats in each division, the Captain obviously being the 1st seat, the lieutenant being the 2nd seat, and then so on. While 11th seat isn't the best, it is still a seat so I can't complain." He said, smiling as a look of realization crossed her face and she said "ooh".

"Hey, Kie! Where have you been?" They heard, turning around and looking at the source. Lena dropped Kie's hand, not knowing what to feel. They looked at the person. It was a tall red head, who had tattoos on his face. When he caught up he noticed the little girl standing by Kie, staring at him with wide, confused eyes. "Who's this? She kind'a looks like you, Kie." The guy said, looking back and forth from Kie and the little girl, not knowing what to say.

"Renji, this is my little sister, Lena. Lena, this is one of my friends, Renji Abari." Kie said, resting his hand on Lena's head to prevent her from hiding behind him. "This is why you haven't been able to find me; I was off getting her so that she can live here." Kie explained.

"Oh! Her hair is opposite to yours!" Renji said, laughing. "And, my guess is that you just got here?"

"Yeah. I was actually just about to go to my Division so that she could drop off her stuff and then meet Ukitake-taicho."

"Okay. Here, I'll join you in going there since I have to drop this paperwork off for Aizen-taicho." Renji said, groaning in thought.

"Got into another fight and get in trouble?" Kie guessed, knowing that he was right when he heard another groan from his friend. "I'll take that as a yes."

"Yeah, you guessed right." Renji agreed as they started walking off to the 13th Division. "And, even worse I guess, I heard that they are thinking about transferring me to the 11th Division." He said, not knowing if he wanted to be mad or happy.

"Well, it could always be worst." Kie said, trying to look at the bright side of things.

"Yeah? And how's that?" Renji asked dramatically.

"I don't know, but I bet it could." Kie said, shrugging.

"What is so bad about the 11th Division?" Lena asked suddenly, finally talking.

"Well, it's the fighting Division. All they really do is fight. That is what they are known for. And the captain is terrifying." Renji shook his head.

"Oh." Lena said, not knowing what to say.

"Yeah." Renji said, agreeing.

Both the guys laughed at Lena as she looked around with big eyes. "I guess that you like it here Lena-chan?" Kie said, smiling down at Lena. She looked up at him, grabbing the hand that he still had on her head with both of her hands and tried to remove it.

"Yes! I love it here!" Lena said enthusiastically.

"Okay, Lena, this is where I, and now we, live." Kie said as they walked up to a house.

"Okay." She said, Kie taking her bag and quickly running into the house to put it down.

-:-

"Ukitake-taicho? I've come to introduce my sister to you." Kie said nervously to Ukitake, walking into the office, glancing around and seeing that Kaien was not there at the moment. "I see that Kaien-fukitaicho isn't here." Kie pointed out.

"Yeah, he is currently out with his wife." Ukitake nodded, looking up. He softly smiled when he saw Kie push a little girl out from hiding behind him. He guessed that this was his sister, and that she was uncertain on what to do from the way that she was clinging to her brother's leg.

"Okay, this is my little sister, Lena. Lena, this is Captain Ukitake." Kie said, smiling fondly at the girl.

"Hello Lena-chan." Ukitake said, trying to make the girl comfortable there. "I hope that you like it here."

"I think that I will!" Lena said, smiling largely, obviously now slightly more comfortable. They turned around when they heard the door open and a man came in with black, spiky hair and a band that said the 13th Division on his arm.

"Hey, Kie, Captain." The man said, walking over to the other desk, the one that Ukitake wasn't at. "Who is the little girl?"

"This is my little sister, Lena. Lena, that is the fukitaicho, Kaien Shiba." He said, introducing the girl yet again.

"So, Lena, is it?" He smiled, though it was like a combination of a smile and a smirk.

"Hello, Kaien-san!" She said, still smiling happily.

"So, you're the happy type?" Kaien said, making Lena tilt her head in confusion. "Always happy and always smiling." He explained.

"Oh! Yeah, I guess I am!" Lena said, slightly shocking Kaien with her openness.

"Well, I wasn't expecting _that_ answer." Kaien said, laughing.

"I thought that you were with Miyako-chan." Ukitake said, slightly confused.

"Well, I was with her, until she reminded me about the paperwork that I should be working on." Kaien said, laughing nervously and rubbing the back of his head as he nodded to the giant pile of paperwork sitting on his desk.

"Okay. I should probably take her around and show her things so that she can start getting used to everything." Kie said, nodding to the other two males in the room.

"Good idea. But, I think with her personality that if she gets lost all she has to do is look at a random person, use her charm and ask them to show her the way." Kaien said, laughing. "I bet that she will quickly get everyone round on her little fingers!"

"Yeah, she does tend to do that." Kie agreed, thinking about how many times back in Zaraki they would be in a fix but then Lena would go and ask for help from someone that she deemed trustworthy and suddenly things would end out good. That was how they gained most of their allies and friends. "Well, we'll be off now." He said, maneuvering them out the door.

"Bye! It was nice to meet you!" Lena said, smiling to the captain and lieutenant before following her brother out the room, the door silently shutting behind her.

"You know, that's a cute little girl. She'll brighten everything up." Kaien said before he went to work.

"Yes, and I have to agree. She'll get everyone wrapped around her fingers." Ukitake agreed, also going back to work.

* * *

><p>I hope that you liked it! Please review! :)<p> 


	2. Chapter 2 Wrapped

Okay! Here is chapter two! I hope you like! :)

_As said in the previous chapter, I do not own Bleach nor any of the characters in, expect for Lena and Kie. No money will be made off of this._

* * *

><p><em><strong>Return of the Missing<strong>_

_**Chapter 2**_ Wrapped

Within just a month, Kaien's prediction came true. Lena truly became a member of the Seireitei, even though she wasn't a shinigami. She even had the head-captain wrapped on her fingers, which was proven when he gave her candy.

_"Soutaicho-san!" She said, running up to Yamamoto and smiling up at him as he turned around and looked down at her. "Hi!" She said, smiling largely and closing her eyes, tilting her head to the side._

_"Why, hello Lena. Here, how about you have some candy." Yamamoto said, grabbing a piece of candy that he had with him and handing it to her._

_"Thank you, Soutaicho-san!" Lena said, accepting the candy, smiling again when Yamamoto smiled at her and put his hand on her head._

_"Now, carry on." He said, turning around and going back to what he was doing before as Lena ran off to the 13__th__ Division. When she had made it there, she was suddenly stopped, being knocked down by someone and "attacked", though the attack was really just Kaien tickling her like crazy making her laugh and squirm to try to get away._

_"Stop, nii-san!" She said while laughing. At some point she had taken to calling Kaien "nii-san", showing that he had gotten close to her. "Miyako-chan! Help!" She called, knowing that his wife was most likely in hearing distance and would show mercy to her._

_After about a minute Miyako, 3__rd__ seat of the 13__th__ Division, came, laughing lightly and telling Kaien to stop tickling "the poor girl", to which he reluctantly did._

_"Thank you Miyako-chan!" Lena said as she sat up, still slightly breathless from laughing so much._

_"It's okay, Lena-chan." Miyako said, smiling softly at the little girl._

_"Oh! Guess what? I got candy from soutaicho-san! And he smiled at me!" Lena said, smiling brightly and showing the candy._

_"Wow!" Kaien said, turning to his wife, "I didn't realize that she had even the head captain wrapped around her fingers." He whispered._

_"What?" Lena asked, confused, though just accepting it when Kaien said "nothing"._

About a month later, there was a hollow attack, and two casualties from it were Kaien and Miyako.

-:-

"Renji-san! Renji-san!" Lena called, it being a month after Kaien's death. Lena had found Renji, who was talking to another girl. Lena didn't know the girl, but she was pretty.

"Lena!" Renji said, smirking when he saw that it was her. Once Lena got to them, she thought that the girl looked familiar, but just mentally shrugged it off.

"Oh! Is this the Lena I have heard a lot about?" The girl asked, looking at Renji and cocking her head. Lena looked at her, her black hair, and her bangs that were swept to the side with a piece sticking out. Compared to Renji, she was short, but then Renji was just tall.

"Yes, this is the Lena you have heard of. Lena, this is my friend, Rukia Kuchiki. She actually is in the same Division as your brother." Renji explained, not in the least surprised that the girl didn't recognize Rukia; the kid was pretty oblivious sometimes.

"Oh! Nice to meet you Pretty-chan!" She said, smiling largely, using a nickname for Rukia instead of using her name, though her chosen nickname made Rukia blush.

"Is something wrong, Pretty-chan?" Lena asked as she stood as tall as she could and putting her hand against Rukia's forhead. "Are you sick? You're red." She said, not realizing that Rukia was blushing because of being called "pretty-chan", making Renji laugh at the two.

"Yes, I'm perfectly all right, Lena-chan." Ruka said as she took Lena's hand away, Lena standing naturally after that.

"I've seen you before, Pretty-chan, but every time I did I was always doing something of importance." Lena said, nodding her head seriously.

"Like what?"

"Well, I deliver paperwork to other divisions a lot for Ukitake-taicho because now I know where all the divisions are, and I can quickly get there." She said, smiling largely.

"Wow. Oh, Rukia, guess what she ended up doing at one point." Renji said randomly, turning to look at his friend. Because his attention was on Rukia, he didn't notice how closely Lena was looking at him.

"_I think that Renji-san _likes_ Pretty-chan!_" Lena thought, seeing the type of look that Renji gave Rukia, then comparing it to the looks that she recalled Kaien giving Miyako.

"What did she do?"

"She decided that she wanted to visit me, so she went to the 11th Division to find me." He said, getting a shocked look from Rukia. "But that's not the funniest part. Almost half of the Division decided that they thought that she was adorable, or something, so they went and started talking to her! It was hilarious! And she is now friends with the lieutenant. They hang out a lot. She also has Kenpachi wrapped around her finger! When he goes to get Yachiru candy he also gets her candy!"

"Oh, wow!" Rukia said, shocked. She looked over at the little girl, but it was obvious from the look on her face that her mind was not there.

"Lena-chan?" Renji asked, waving his hand in front of Lena's face, making her blink a couple of times.

"What?" She asked, obviously now realizing that they were both looking at her.

"Have you met all the captains yet?" Renji asked, curious. When Lena nodded, he continued. "Which one is your favorite?" Lena was silent for a few moments, thinking about all the captains.

"Well, I think, that Ichimaru-taicho is my favorite, though barely in lead." She said, shocking them both.

"Why him? He's creepy, no offense to him." Renji said, shocked.

"Well, people only think that he is creepy because of the fact that he not only is always smiling but he also is a bit sarcastic. If you look past all of his sarcastic-ness you realize he is just a really happy person." Lena said, nodding to herself.

"Okay. I hate to ask, but who do you like least?" Renji continued. Lena thought again for a moment.

"Well," She began, suddenly glancing around as if to make sure that the person wasn't there. "I think that Captain Aizen is the one I like the least." She said, much to Rukia's and Renji's shock.

"Why? He is a pretty good captain, I mean, he listens to his Division and cares for them. So, why?"

"I don't know. There is just something about him that scares me." Lena frowned in thought.

"That is weird." Rukia said, furrowing her eyebrows.

"I know." Lena agreed. Suddenly her face lit up. "I've got to go! I'm going to go visit Ukitake-taicho and see if he needs me to deliver any paperwork for him! Bye!" She said, running off.

"You know, she said that even though Ichimaru-taicho is her favorite, she also said barely. I have a feeling that Ukitake-taicho is about there." Rukia said, staring after Lena.

"I have to agree." They heard, both jumping and looking over to see Kie walking over, smiling.

"Oh, hey Kie." Renji said, nodding to his friend. "Why do you say that?" He asked, curious.

"Well, she is with him the most now. She is also always helping him out whatever way that she can, so she always delivers paperwork for him, and gets it done so quick that it's not even funny!" He shook his head, laughing a little.

"She does?" Rukia asked, curious.

"Oh, yes. She does." He sighed. "Well, I really wonder about her." He said randomly, making Renji and Rukia furrow their eyebrows in confusion.

"Why do you say that?" They asked in unison, making them all laugh for a moment, before Renji and Rukia turned their gazes back onto Kie.

"Well, to help out Ukitake-taicho because he now has to do even more paperwork, I go and sign as much paperwork as an 11th seat can; that's also the reason that I know that Lena is there a lot. Anyway, one of the times that we were both their Ukitake-taicho had an attack. Stress, I guess. But instead of panicking like I was expecting her to, Lena acted completely calm and about 20 times her age. She did exactly what Ukitake-taicho asked her to, and he got help probably faster than usual. But it's just the fact that she knew what to do." He shook his head, knowing that he wasn't saying something right. Something about how Lena knew what to do had worried him, and as soon as he could he had asked if Ukitake told her what to do; he said he never did.

"My bet is that she was calm because she is used to dealing with blood and stuff like that; after all, you two did use to live in Zaraki." Rukia said, trying to use logic.

"But I don't think she has ever dealt with king care of a person with the disease the taicho has." Kie countered.

"You know, he has a point. But maybe, while you were getting settled her she met someone with that disease, and asked him, for whatever reason, how to take care of it." Rukia suggested.

"Yes, that does sound like her, but I wonder what the reason would be." He shook his head, then suddenly said, "Okay, I just remembered this. I have to go talk to someone. See you later!" He said, slightly waving and walking off after Rukia and Renji said bye.

But what they didn't realize was that Rukia was correct; Lena had asked a person how to care for that disease. But, the reason why she asked was far worse than they would ever realize.

* * *

><p>So, I bet that you are able to figure out the answer! Pretty simple, but in the off chance that you don't, the answer is in the next chapter! As always, please review!<p> 


	3. Chapter 3 The Attack From Within

And now, here is chapter three! Enjoy!

_As said in the last two chapters, I do not own Bleach or any of the characters expect for Lena and Kie. I still do not make any money off of this._

* * *

><p><em><strong>Return of the Missing<strong>_

_**Chapter 3**_ The Attack From Within

During the first summer Lena was at the Seireitei, Kie went out on a mission, and, while he was out Lena was playing in a court yard. Soi Fong was watching her, just to make sure that nothing bad happened to her.

When Lena had been playing around for about an hour, she suddenly fell to her knees, breathing heavily and coughing into her hands. Soi Fong ran to her, making sure she was okay. After a minute Lena stopped coughing, looking over to see that she wasn't alone. She closed her hand and wiped her mouth off.

"Are you okay?" Soi Fong asked, not liking how Lena was hiding something from her.

"Yeah. I guess the heat got to me." She said, frowning.

"Well, I always make sure that my house is extremely cool. Let's go there." Soi Fong suggested, grabbing Lena's elbow and helping her up.

"I guess I have to tell you." Lena muttered, sighing.

"Tell me what?" Soi Fong asked suspiciously, eyeing Lena from the corner of her eyes.

"I'll tell you once we get there!" Lena said, smiling.

After a couple of minutes they got to Soi Fong's house. When they got there, Lena washed her hands, and, to Soi Fong, it looked like blood was washed off, but she had to mentally shrug it off as she got Lena a glass of water.

"Here's a glass of water." She said, handing the glass over. Lena took it, smiling a thank you and taking a drink of it.

"Thank you!" She said after she felt better.

"So, what did you want to tell me?" Soi Fong asked, and, much to her surprise Lena responded that she had the same disease as Ukitake, which was why she knew what to do to help him. "Does anyone else know?" Soi Fong asked afterwards.

"No, not even my nii-chan knows." She sighed, and, before Soi Fong could ask, she explained why. "Well, my disease started after nii-chan went to the academy, and I didn't want to worry him so I haven't told him." She looked at Soi Fong, suddenly looking much older than she really was. "Please, Soi Fong-chan, don't tell anyone." She begged. Soi Fong frowned slightly, but she knew that there was no way she could be mean to the little girl so she reluctantly agreed, making Lena breathe a sigh of relief.

"So, are you happy being a captain?" Lena asked, trying to make a conversation.

"Well, I guess so." Soi Fong responded, not wanting to elaborate.

"You guess? Or you are?"

"Well, the former captain was my friend, and the only reason I became captain was because she disappeared and was deemed traitor." Soi Fong explained. Lena looked closely at her, and saw the sadness in her eyes.

"And you miss her." She said, not phrasing it as a question but as a comment.

"Yes, I do."

"Well, smile!" Lena said, smiling up at Soi Fong's confused expression. "I bet she would be happy if she knew you were doing well, and so, smile! That way you will actually be doing well!" Lena said, knowing that the former captain was a female just because she often was with captains talking about how at one point several captains and lieutenants turned traitor not too long ago, one of them being the captain, or now last captain, of the 2nd Division, Yoruichi Shihoin.

"Yeah, I think you're right. But, I won't act any different. At least around others; I've always acted this way."

"Well, then, continue acting this way! Be happy!" Lena insisted, making Soi Fong smile and laugh. Lena gasped. "You laughed! You're pretty when you smile!" She said, making a slight blush appear on Soi Fong's face.

-:-

About a week later after that incident, Lena was out just walking around, waiting because Kie was supposed to come back later that day. She walked around in the forest, staying where she knew the paths. Suddenly she heard some people talking, and curiosity took over, making Lena go and see who was talking.

She found Aizen and Tosen talking, the two people she always was watching when they were near her so, naturally, she was cautious. But when she heard them say something about the traitors, she decided to hide her spirit energy and eavesdrop on what they were saying.

"So, do you think they are any threats?" Tosen checked, frowning.

"No. They won't be listened to anyway. They are traitors." Aizen said, shrugging.

"And what about Lena Monoty? Do you think that she is a threat?" Tosen continued, making Lena slightly freeze where she was.

"Yes, she is a threat. Somehow, despite being a kid, she is very observant, and it seems that she is suspicious of us, and my plans to be God." Aizen frowned, mad.

"So, what do you think we should do?"

"Well, what do we do with any threats? We remove them, so that is what we will do with her." Aizen said, smiling evilly.

Lena's eyes widened in horror, and her heart started racing. She saw that they were both about to leave so Lena, in order to prevent either of them from walking into her she quickly left, suddenly extremely grateful that Soi Fong trained her with not only hiding her spirit energy but also with using Shunpo, saying that Lena was a natural. So, within seconds Lena was outside of the forest. She took a deep breath, cooling her face so that it seemed like nothing was wrong. Within seconds she no longer appeared panicked, and looked like herself. She smiled, though she was panicking on the inside. What could she do? Nothing.

There was absolutely _nothing_ that she could do, at least, not without Aizen and Tosen finding out.

-:-

A week later, Aizen's plan went into action. He didn't want anything flashy, so one day, just randomly, there was an attack within the Seireitei, but none of the captains were expecting it. Lena had been out, playing with a random member of the 13th Division when they were attacked.

When Lena couldn't be found, a search team went out to find her, but they only found the person who she had been with, unconscious. When he woke up and they asked him where Lena was, he said he didn't know. He recalled being with Lena, but then, suddenly, something attacked them. He was knocked out before he could even tell Lena to run. After that, he didn't know what happened. They continued the search, and found occasional, small traces of her blood. Lena, herself, was never found.

What had happened, what they didn't know, was that the thing that attacked them, they never knew what it was, had attacked the shinigami so he didn't know what happened to Lena, and then he started going after Lena, getting a couple small scratches on her- the source of the blood.

After that it had continued to take her away from the Seireitei, planning on taking her as far as it could from the Seireitei to kill her. But once it was about to kill her, she shocked it by killing it, afterwards sending yet another prayer of thanks that Soi Fong had trained her some. But, they were already in the 80th District by the time it had stopped to try to kill her. Lena was back where she had been before, before she had been taken to the Seireitei.

Because they didn't know what had happened and had no evidence, the captains couldn't search for her. Lena was just simply put as missing.

For several weeks it was evident on how much Lena had effect the shinigami. Even Soi Fong shed a tear when she realized that Lena would never be seen again. Kiyone and Sentaro had just been promoted right before she went missing, and she had made them feel welcome there, along with Ukitake, so when they heard she was missing they were sad. Everyone was sad though, because Lena had been at the age when she had started physically growing a lot, and also slightly maturing, so everyone had the chance to watch her grow up some, so everyone felt like she was their kid, their pride and joy. And so everyone felt responsible for her, and responsible for her being kidnapped.

While Lena wasn't forgotten, she was slightly moved to the side because of distraction; Toshiro being promoted to captain.

And so Lena wasn't mentioned much for many years to come, She was mentioned a couple of times around when Kie died on a mission from a hollow to strong for him, mentioned because they knew that if Lena was still alive, she wouldn't know that Kie was dead, and there was no way for her to find out.

The next time she was mentioned was when there was word about someone being so good that she was going to graduate the academy in only one year.

The name of that soul is Lena Monoty.

* * *

><p>Dun dun dun! So now we get to the main purpose of this fanfic, in the next chapter of course! :) As said in all the previous chapters, <em>please review!<em>


	4. Chapter 4 News for the Strange

Okay, I know that this is random, but when I was checking my email and saw that someone put this story on their alerts, my day became fantastical! I was so happy! Thank you for reading this! I hope that you enjoy it! :)

_As said in all the previous chapters, I do not own Bleach or any of the characters. I only own Lena, Kie and Jared. I still do not make any money off of this- still for entertainment._

* * *

><p><em><strong>Return of the Missing<strong>_

_**Chapter 4**_ News for the Strange

"Hey, Len-Len!" A guy called in a sing-song voice. He ran up to a girl relaxing against a tree.

The girl's appearance was weird. She was about average height, and look like she was skinny. Her bangs were held to the side with a hair clip shaped like with a black and white butterfly on it, but if left down would go to her chin. The rest of her hair went about mid-way down her back, getting shorter and shorter the farther back it went, the middle of her hair in the back went to the bottom of her neck. The ends of the longest part of her hair was a dark purple, getting lighter the higher it went up, the bottom of the shortest part of her hair, minus her bangs, being an extremely light purple, and when it got to about her chin there was no purple. The parts of her hair without purple were white.

"Hello Jared. How are you today?" She asked, smiling softly at him.

"Len-Len, you are way too serious. But anyway, I'm good!" He said, smiling a large smile at her. "Len-Len" sighed, shaking her head. "What? You are way too serious! I'm just telling you how I see it!" He shook his head, making the girl raise a slightly brown eyebrow, showing that her hair either wasn't naturally white or had changed to being white from another color.

"Jared, you are insane!" She started laughing, covering her mouth with her hand.

"Well, of course! I mean, come on! Who else could put up with the smartest person here, Miss Graduate-In-One-Year!" He said, glaring at her and making her say "what". "I know, I know. That is why you are so serious. You need to focus on you studies and all, but luckily you have me and- why are you frowning at me?" He asked suddenly, noticing her frown.

"You know I don't like it when you go off on that." She said, still frowning, but now glaring at him with her dark blue eyes.

"I do, but that is why I like going off on it! It annoys the hell out of you! Plus, I know how to calm you down!" He said, suddenly grabbing the bracelet off of her wrist and running off with it, shouting back at her that she had to catch up with him to get it back.

She quietly growled, crouching and starting to run after him. She saw him jump the fence around the track and followed him there, not realizing that a teacher was watching, the teacher having two people with her, a male and female, both of which were wearing shinigami uniforms.

In the middle of the track, she caught up to Jared, taking her bracelet back from him. "Nee, Jared Nickson, you are a cruel man." She said, using his full name.

"Well, Lena Monoty, I was just trying to cheer you up. And it looks like it worked." He said, using her full name.

Yes, it's true. This girl, "Len-Len" as Jared calls her, is the little girl that went missing from the Seireitei many years back.

"You know, there are other perfectly good ways of cheering me up, ways better than stealing something extremely valuable to me." She said, putting her hands around her wrist, grabbing the bracelet that had thick beads and a stretchy string, and putting a kido on it so that Jared couldn't steal it again.

"Aw, don't be a sore loser, Len-Len!" Jared said, pouting, following Lena as she left the track. "Lena! I didn't mean anything! Honest! You'll always be my little Len-Len!" He said, still being forced to run after Lena. The teacher that was watching sighed, shaking her head at Jared's antics. Lena sighed, turning around and looking at Jared, who then proceeded to give her puppy dog eyes, making Lena frown; she could never stay mad at him when he gave her that look. Her heart always melted.

"Fine. You're forgiven." She said, pouting that she had to forgive easily. Even though she never was mad. She just liked making fun of Jared.

"Awesome!" Jared said, glomping Lena. Lena sighed, pushing him off and saying that a teacher was coming and that the teacher was with a couple of people, people that she didn't know. Jared glanced around, not seeing anyone.

"I don't see them, baka, I sense them. They are about to be seen if you glance over at the barn." She said, looking over there, Jared doing the same. Sure enough, about a minute later that teacher was seen along with the two people.

"Those are shinigami from the Seireitei." Jared said, shocked. They realized that the three were heading over in there directions and, when the three reached them, Jared and Lena bowed their heads, showing respect.

"Hello Lokney Sensei." Lena said, greeting the teacher assigned to her.

"Hello Lena. Hello Nickson. Lena, these two are actually here to see you. They are the third seat of the 13th Division." Lokney said, making Jared confused. _Both_ are the third seat? "This is Kiyone Kotetsu and Sentaro Kotsubaki." She said, nodding first to the female shinigami and then the male. "Kotetsu-san and Kotsubaki-san, these are Lena Monoty and Jared Nickson, both of the graduating class." She said, nodding to Lena and Jared in order.

"Okay, I'm sorry Nickson, but I'm going to have to steal Lena from you for a little bit. I have something that I need to tell her." She continued. Lena didn't know if she should worry. So instead she followed her sensei, waving a quick good bye to Jared.

-:-

"Sensei, are you serious?" Lena asked, shocked from what she had found out.

"Yes, Lena, I am perfectly serious." Lokney replied, completely appearing calm.

"But, why me? Why me of all people?"

"Well, that is because you are the only one able to graduate from the academy in one year at the moment." She said, now smiling. "So, get over it and accept it. You will be the lieutenant of the 13th Division." She said, her smile widening to show just how happy she really was.

"And you do know the name of you zanpakuto, correct?" Sentaro asked Lena. Sentaro had been talking throughout the entire conversation, trying to get a feel on this girl.

"Yes, I do. And you can even check with Lokney Sensei; when she found out that I knew my zanpakuto's name she made me show her my shikai." Lena and Lokney laughed from the memory.

"And I presume that the reason that they are here is because they wanted to meet the person who will become the lieutenant of their division." Lokney said randomly.

"Yes, that is correct. Also, we were curious. I have a question, Monoty-chan." Kiyone said, talking for the first time. "If the answer is no, then just pretend that I never asked the question. But, anyway. Are you the same Lena Monoty that was at the Seireitei a couple hundred years ago?" She asked, unable to keep her curiosity from not showing. Sentaro looked at Kiyone, knowing that if she hadn't asked the question he would have. Then they both were looking at Lena, waiting for her to answer.

"Yes, actually. I was." Lena said, much to their shock. Lokney frowned in thought. Hadn't she told them that? Oh well. Maybe she forgot to.

"Well, did you three ever meet?" Lokney asked, unable to help her curiosity.

"Yes, actually. We did. Back then, when I was there, my brother was the 11th seat of that division so I was there the most, and when they became the third seat I helped them out the best I could." She smiled, and then suddenly realized something. "Speaking of my brother, how is he? I haven't gotten any news about things like that, and I wonder how Kie is doing." She said, her eyebrows furrowing when she saw the sad look exchanged between Kiyone and Sentaro.

"Well, actually, about that Lena-chan." Sentaro said, going back to the name that they had called her from when she lived at the Seireitei with her brother. "Kie is… He is dead." He said. Lena widened her eyes.

"Oh. How did he die? How long ago?" She asked, wanting, no, _needing_ to know.

"Well, it happened about twenty years after you went missing. He had gone on a mission. It was just a routine mission, or so they thought, so they didn't send him with any seated office. But, then he and his partner encountered and were attacked by a hollow stronger than they were ever expecting, and in order to save his partner Kie died." Sentaro said, seeing Lena's sad look, but, before he could say anything, it was gone.

"Thank you for telling me! It's a good thing I found out now, rather than when I was at the division." She said, her smile now returning. They knew that she was sad, but she didn't want to be rude and cry in front of them so she was holding her sadness in for later.

"Yeah. Well, we should get back to the barracks. The captain might need us." Kiyone said, nodding towards Lena and the sensei. "Well, it was nice seeing you again, and I can't wait for you to be our lieutenant. Good bye!" She said, Sentaro also saying good bye and them both leaving.

"Well, I'm going to go attempt to find Jared. Do you think that I should keep this fact hidden from people, or does it not matter?"

"Well, I wouldn't recommend that you go around shouting that you will become lieutenant, but you can tell Nickson, as long as he won't go around shouting it. I think he would do something like that." Lokney said, thinking about what she had heard of the boy.

"Yeah, he would. But I'll tell him not to. Anyway, I should be quick about it; it's almost night and almost time for curfew. Goodnight, Lokney sensei." She said, bowing low before leaving.

After about a minute, Lena found Jared, who was standing by the track, waiting for her to return.

"So, how did it go?" He asked, worried that it was bad news.

"It was good news, so stop worrying! As soon as I am out of the academy I will become the lieutenant of the 13th Division!" She said, smiling largely.

"What! Oh, you lucky bitch!" He said, wanting to shout it. He was about to when Lena put her finger on his mouth.

"No, do not shout it. Ever. Do not go around flaunting it for me, either. People will get mad. They are mad enough as is with me taking only a year to graduate. This will increase their hate and make it possibly violent." She said, frowning and taking her hand away from his mouth. Jared looked at her, and saw that there was a sad look to her eyes, hidden behind a mask.

"Tell me. What is wrong?" He said, his voice harsh when he told her to tell him, but softening when he asked what was wrong.

"Well, while they hadn't come here to tell me this fact, once they found out who I was and I asked they told me. You know about how some time ago I lived in the Seireitei, but then was kidnapped and taken away from there? Well, I asked about how my brother was doing. They told me that, about 20 years after I went missing, he died on a mission." Her eyes went sad.

Suddenly, Jared hugged her, trying to use the touch to cheer her up. Lena's eyebrows furrowed together as she held back tears, and she put her head against Jared's chest, seeing as how the top of her head only went to the base of his neck. It wasn't like she was short; he was just tall!

After a couple of minutes, Lena calmed down. Jared somehow sensed that she was fine and that he was to let her go, to which he did.

"So, will you be okay?"

"Yes, I will. I can't change the past, so I'll move past this." She said, shrugging. She thought about what she had been doing. That was about the time she had met Mina. "But, speaking of time," She said randomly, making Jared confused; they hadn't been talking about time, "it is almost time for curfew so we best both go back to our dorms. Good night, Jared!" She said, waving and Shunpoing off to her room.

Because she had been so advanced and was going to go through the academy in around a year Lena didn't have a shared room, which she took advantage of. She let herself cry the tears that she had held back earlier.

-:-

"Taicho! Guess what we found out about the girl that will be the lieutenant!" Kiyone said when they got back.

"Yes? What did you find out? Is she the same Lena?" Ukitake asked, curious.

"Yes, she is! She is the same Lena! You can kind'a tell, though. The part of her hair that isn't somewhat dyed is still white, and her eyes are still dark blue." Kiyone and Sentaro said at the same time, both wanting to out show the other. Ukitake was confused; the part of her hair that wasn't dyed? Her hair was dyed?

"But I really like her hair." Kiyone said, nodding. She saw that Ukitake was confused, so she began to elaborate, but before she really got past the "well, she has", she realized that he would soon she her himself so there was no point in describing her hair, which she said.

"So, she graduates not long before summer, and that is when all the new recruits will be coming. We'll do what we normally do, expect that, in case she has forgotten her way around one of us will show her around. I want to do that, so don't you even offer Sentaro!" Kiyone said firmly and giving Sentaro a look that said "say anything to disagree and you die". Sentaro swallowed, nodding.

"Did she find out that her brother is dead?" Ukitake asked randomly, wanting to know if they told her.

"Yeah. She asked how her brother was doing, so we had to tell her." Kiyone said, remembering the sadness that had crossed Lena's face.

"Did she take it well?"

"Yes, it seems like she did."

"Well, that's good." Ukitake said, glad that she was aware of _that_ situation.

Ukitake glanced at the papers about her, for once wishing that they would take pictures of the people to put there. "Did you find out anything about what it said in the box about her medical records?" He asked, glancing up at them and knowing the answer just from their looks.

"Yes. While we didn't talk to Lena-chan about it, we talked to her sensei about it, and it is true. She does have that disease. Apparently she has had it for a long time; the time line that we were given would mean that even before she went missing she had it. To be even more specific, she probably had it even before she came here to the Seireitei!" Kiyone said, still shocked from being told that.

Before, when Lena had lived there, she seemed completely healthy!

Ukitake sighed. He hadn't known that Lena was sick. He looked back at the papers. On May second she would be graduating, the next day she had to herself, meaning that he would be seeing her on May fourth- only a month away.

* * *

><p>Okay! I hope that you liked the fourth chapter! I wonder if having Lena graduate in early May is too soon... Oh well! Chapter five is coming soon. Please, as said in all the chapters, review! They are more than welcome!<p> 


	5. Chapter 5 Returning of the Kidnapped

Okay! Chapter five! Enjoy!

_I still do not own Bleach or any of it's characters. I still own Lena, Kie and Jared. And, as said in all the chapters up to now, I do not make any money off of this._

* * *

><p><em><strong>Return of the Missing<strong>_

_**Chapter 5**_ Returning of the Kidnapped

A month later, Lena and Jared graduated. Lena found out that she wasn't to go on an earlier day; the only difference of what she was supposed to do was that she would meet up Kiyone and be shown around, to which she was thankful because it meant that she would have a chance to refresh her memory of the Division. Also, Kiyone was going to give her the lieutenant's badge.

The day before they had nothing to do, so Jared and Lena were hanging out, enjoying the warmth. Jared had just gotten the paper saying where he was going to be; he got in the 9th Division, the captain being Shuhei Hisagi, the former lieutenant of that same division, until it was discovered that he had bankai, and was strong enough to be captain.

Then the day came when Lena officially became the lieutenant. She was thrilled, and her spirits went up when she found out that the house she had used to live in the Kie was officially under her name, and that it was clean. All the clothes in the house had been packed and thrown out, because people had known that even if Lena was alive, and she obviously is alive but they didn't know that, if she came back she wouldn't be able to wear any of the clothes.

So now let us join Lena and Kiyone, who had been walking around the division seeing everyone, introducing those they saw to Lena as the 13th Division Lieutenant.

"So, what about Renji-san? I know that he is fukitaicho of the 6th division, we are told all the lieutenants and captains in the academy, but when did that happen?" Lena asked, truly curious.  
>"Oh! That happened about 40 years after you went missing." Kiyone responded, not in the least fazed; Lena had been asking a lot of questions like that.<p>

"Okay. And what about Rukia-san?"

"She is still in this division, and she still doesn't have a seat. She is married to Kurosaki-taicho. He is the 5th Division captain."

"Okay. I hope that we see Rukia at some point today." Lena said, pausing in her tirade of questions to think about what to ask next. "Okay. I've thought of one. Tell me about Captain Kurosaki. Where did he come from? Because I've never met him before." She said, wanting to know as much as she could.

"Well, about a month after Renji became fukitaicho, he was sent on a mission to retrieve Rukia, who had been in the world of the living for far too long. And it was discovered that she gave her powers to a human. Well, she was given the ultimate punishment- death. So Ichigo Kurosaki, that is his full name, and some of his friends came and rescued her. After around four years, Kurosaki-taicho died… but retained his memories and powers, and because his powers were equal to that of a captain's powers, and we had three open captain positions, he became captain. After around a year he and Rukia became married." Kiyone said, summarizing it the best that she could.

"Okay. I think I get the picture." Lena said, nodding. She glanced ahead. "And I think that I see Rukia." Lena said, nodding ahead. Sure enough, there was Rukia. Kiyone called out her name, making her turn around and see the two.

"Hello Rukia-san!" Kiyone said, nodding to the noble once she got to them.

"Hello Kiyone-chan. I take it this is the new lieutenant?" She asked, nodding to Lena.

"Yes, and you'll never guess what!" Kiyone said, making Rukia confused and ask "what". "Remember the little girl from about 40 years before Kurosaki-taicho and you met?" When Rukia nodded, she continued. "Well, _this_ is that same person! This is Lena Monoty!" She cheered. Rukia looked shocked.

"Lena-chan?" She asked, cocking her head. Lena smiled largely, nodding her head in response. "So you're okay! I had heard rumors that you were going through the academy and were going to graduate in one year, but I didn't know if they were true. So, did you graduate in one year?" When Lena nodded again, Rukia's eyes widened in shock. "Wow!" She said, not knowing what to say.

"Yeah. Wow!" Lena agreed, laughing. "But this means the two people that I lived with when I was in Zaraki won't see me in the academy." She said, thinking of the two people she thought of as almost sisters.

"Why is that?" Rukia asked. "I guess that you were close to them, so why didn't you three just join together?"

"Well, Mina, the older of the two, and also the oldest of the three of us, wanted to get a little stronger, and decided that she would wait another year. June, although being the youngest, is very protective of us, and she also trained us, but she said that since I was ready for the academy, and could go alone, she said that was also going to wait a year, that way Mina wouldn't be alone." Lena shrugged, but she smiled as she thought about her two friends.

"Mina and June?" Rukia asked, checking to see if she heard the names correct. When Lena nodded, she continued. "Those are some weird names."

"Well, they are both so kind that you forget that fact. Well, at first June was somewhat cold to me and Mina- I met Mina 20 years after I was chucked back there, and then a year later we met June- but she warmed up to us, and started to trust us. After that happened she was incredibly kind to us, and helped me out a lot." She nodded, mentally comparing her friend from before and after.

(**Author's Note:** Hint hint. These names are important! That is all I'll say for now...)

"Okay."

"Any way! Kiyone-chan, what should we do next? I mean, we've looked at about the entire barracks in detail. Expect the office." She looked confused. "Any reason why?"

"Sentaro said that he was going to meet us back there, and when that happens I know that he'll try to steal all of your attention. So, for now I want to have your attention!" Kiyone said, smiling largely and not trying to lie.

"Okay. Nice reason there." Lena said, smiling. But then they heard someone call Lena's name, or what they thought was her name. "Len-Len" was being called. Rukia and Kiyone looked at Lena, seeing her sigh and shake her head, slightly groaning. They looked in the direction of where the call came from.

What they saw was a tall man, maybe a little taller than Renji, that had somewhat spiky black hair and light green eyes. He was slightly muscular, and was wearing a standard shinigami uniform, the sleeves ending mid-way down his arm. He was smiling largely, waving at a Lena, who sighed, shaking her head again.

"Len-Len! I found you! Or should I call you Len-Len-fukitaicho?" He said, smirking at her.

"You know, you are impossible, baka!" She said. Jared was the only person she ever called a baka.

"I know!" He laughed, rubbing Lena's head. He glanced over at the two people staring in confusion. "Any way, who are they? I recognize one of them; she was at the academy." He said, nodding at Kiyone, but then glancing at Rukia. "Who is this?" He repeated.

"Hello. I'm Rukia Kurosaki." Rukia said, smiling.

"Well, I'm Jared Nickson. Kurosaki. That's a weird name."

"I'm married. My last name used to be Kuchiki." Rukia said, slightly nodding.

"Oh! So you are a noble! Does that mean-" Jared began, though he was interrupted by Lena.

"I'm sorry, Rukia-san. Jared is an idiot. He is also a major smart-arse." Lena said, showing that she didn't cuss much, if ever. "So, it's a good idea to just ignore him the majority of the time; it's what I do. The only way to actually stay sane around him." Lena said, sticking her tongue out at Jared for a moment.

"Um, okay." Rukia said, slightly confused.

"Okay, I think that I've stalled us long enough. We should get to the office before Ukitake-taicho and Sentaro realize that I've been hogging you to myself." Kiyone said, nodding.

"Wait, you haven't even- are you even listening to me Lena?" Jared asked, frantic when he realized that after quickly saying goodbye to Rukia, Lena and Kiyone were walking away.

"Bye Jared!" Lena said in a sing-song voice, waving.

-:-

"Sorry we took so long Captain. I wanted to show Lena-chan a lot." Kiyone slightly lied as she and Lena walked in the office and saw that Ukitake and Sentaro were doing paperwork. It was obvious that they were waiting for Lena and Kiyone to get there.

"It's okay." Ukitake said, cutting off Sentaro from accusing Kiyone of hogging Lena, even though she would have to lie to deny it.

"Hello, Ukitake-taicho." Lena said, smiling and slightly nodding her head.

"Been a while since you were last here, hunh Lena!" Sentaro said, smiling largely.

"Yes, it has. But it doesn't look like the office has changed since I was here." Lena said, thinking that the office looked slightly smaller than she had recalled it to be, so she didn't notice the three slightly blushing at that, much to their relief.

"Yes, well, with everything that is and has happened it's somewhat impossible to change anything." Ukitake said, meaning with him being sick a lot, and that when he was healthy he was doing paperwork.

"It's understandable." Lena said, shrugging. She looked at the lieutenant's desk, and suddenly thought something. "I have a question. Am I the first lieutenant since Kaien?" She asked, hoping that Kaien's name wasn't taboo.

"Yes, you are." Ukitake said, laughing. "Kiyone and Sentaro just did all the lieutenant's duties, but now that you are here they won't have to."

"Oh, wow. I feel so honored." Lena said, slightly sarcastic for once.

"It'll be alright! I know that I'll help you out!" Kiyone said, smiling over at Lena. While they had been talking, Kiyone had walked over to one of the couches, Lena going to the desk that was now her's.

"Well, I'll do an even better job than you!" Sentaro said, trying to out-show Kiyone.

"So, Lena, I saw on your file that you have tuberculosis." Ukitake said randomly. Lena looked at him, confused from the sudden switch in topic. Sentaro and Kiyone looked between the two, not knowing what to do. When Lena realized what had been said, she nodded. "How long? Kiyone and Sentaro said that they found out that you must have had it for a while. How long, exactly, have you had it?"

"Well, I actually have had it since before I was in the Seireitei for the first time. I first realized I had it about half a year after Kie-chan went to the academy, but never told him because I always managed to get it from acting up a lot." She shrugged. "And because I never wanted to worry him even more than he already worried, I didn't tell him."  
>"Did anyone here know?"<p>

"Yes, one person knew, but they didn't find out until about two weeks before I disappeared." She shrugged, but she didn't want to say that it was Soi Fong that knew.

"Who was it? And better yet, why didn't they tell anyone?"

"Well, for that person's protection I won't tell who. But trust me. It's not like they wanted to keep it a secret; the only reason that they didn't tell anyone was because I made them promise not to tell anyone." She shrugged once more, thinking about the incident. "Anyway, the past is the past, and there is no way to change it, so no point on hanging on it." She said, nodding to herself.

"You have a point there." Ukitake agreed while Kiyone and Sentaro thought that she had said that before. "So, the other unfortunate part is that I am often unable to help out with the paperwork or do much, so you will often be in control of the division." He said, thinking that it was something that was important for Lena to know.

"Okay." Lena said, shrugging and sitting down. She noted that the desk was not at all dusty, and the chair was good.

"Wait, you said that you were also sick. Lena-chan, won't there also be a chance that you won't be here a lot?" Sentaro said, remembering that fact.

"Well, one of the people that the met after I disappeared, she knows plants well, and she made actually a couple of things that help me from having attacks. Also, I know all of my limits in detail." She shrugged.

"But wait, is that possible? 'Cause if it was, wouldn't Unohana-taicho have figured it out by now?" Sentaro said, confused.

"Well, this person is a bit daring, so she combined things that I doubt anyone would have even considered even _using_, so I think that's it." She thought about it. "Like, if I was to guess on what to use, and my friend made me guess, I guessed that she used plants with long, hard to pronounce names. But no. She uses fruits- mainly peaches. She even made a peach tea that helps with stopping attacks." She smiled. "So, see? That is why." She shrugged.

"Okay. From what I hear, I can't tell if she should- wait, can she heal?" Kiyone asked, and when Lena nodded she continued, "I can't tell if she should be in the 4th Division or the 12th Division."

"I told her that myself, and she said that she would pass. She says that she doesn't want to do either for a living." She shrugged. "But it doesn't matter. Only time will tell where she will get."

"So, Lena, you haven't quite said. Where did you get taken to when you disappeared?" Ukitake said, changing the topic, much to Lena's relief.

"You would never believe me. I got taken back all the way to the 80th District." She laughed.

"Better yet, why?"

"Now that is a kind'a funny reason. The only reason I actually know is because I overheard a conversation. Apparently I was a threat to some people, so they got rid of me." She rolled her eyes.

"Well, I know this is a bit random, but if you want you can leave for the day, Lena-chan. But, anyway, after I sign this paper, there will be no more paperwork that we have to do, so…" Ukitake said, not knowing what to say.

"Okay. I think I will do that." Lena said, smiling and getting up. "I want to see how some people are doing."

"Oh, Lena! I believe that we will have things to do for you tomorrow, so come in at a decent time in the morning." Ukitake said, quickly signing the paper.

"Okay. See you tomorrow, then!"

-:-

A couple hundred years ago, four years after Rukia and Ichigo met, and about a month before Ichigo died, Renji and Rukia had been talking about Lena, about how they missed her. Ichigo had overheard, and was curious; who was this Lena?

_"I miss, Lena-chan! She was always so happy!" Rukia said to Renji. They were at Urahara's, simply because that was where Renji had decided to stay._

_"You only miss her because she called you pretty!" Renji said, making fun of her._

_"Do not!"_

_"Who is Lena?"Yoruichi asked suddenly, curious. Ichigo and Urahara looked curious as well._

_"Well, she was the sister of someone in my division." Rukia began, thinking of the best way to explain Lena. "She was at the Seireitei about 44 years ago, until she was kidnapped. She had been there for about a year when that happened, and it is unknown if she is alive."_

_"No wonder I've never met her. She was there after I was." Yoruichi said, shrugging._

_"Yes. That would be why. But, when Lena went missing, it was like something even worse happened; like one of the captains went missing! For weeks after she disappeared without a trace everyone was sad… Until our minds ere switched onto another gear." Rukia said, remembering what had happened._

_"What was it?"_

_"Oh, we got distracted because Hitsugaya became captain." Renji said, saying it for Rukia. "But, truly, I think that even Captain Soi Fong got sad!"_

_"Soi Fong? She got sad? Wow!"_

_"Yeah, I know."_

_"You know, I think I just figured out why Lena-chan got everyone to like her." Rukia said, continuing when she saw that she had everyone's attention. "Well, she treated everyone like equals. She didn't give one person more respect simply because they might be a noble."_

_"Wait, Rukia. Do you remember when I asked her which captain was her favorite?" Renji said, suddenly realizing something. "Well, she said that Gin was her favorite. We thought that she was weird, but even though Gin betrayed the soul society he never did much bad. But when I asked who her least favorite captain was, she said that it was Aizen."_

_"Wait, this girl said that Aizen, the one who no one would ever suspect of doing any wrong… said that he was her least favorite?" Yoruichi said, shocked. She recalled that when she was there she would never have thought that Aizen was in truth bad._

_"Yeah, and I asked her why, but she just said that there was something about Aizen that scared her, but she couldn't put her finger on it." Renji frowned, realizing that she had slightly predicted something no one would have even considered._

Now, let us return to the present. After leaving the office, Lena decided to try to find Renji, and see how he was doing. But, luckily for her she didn't have to look hard; Rukia happened to be with Renji and when Rukia saw Lena, she called out her name, making it easy for Lena.

"Wait, Lena?" Renji asked, shocked. _This_ was the little girl that had been here?

"Oh! Hello Renji-san! Hello again Rukia-chan!" Lena said, smiling at them both.

"Wow! It's been a while!" Renji said, smiling down at Lena.

"Here, let's walk over to some place to get some drinks, maybe some food." Rukia suggested, realizing that she was somewhat hungry and thirsty.

"That's a good idea. I haven't had anything to drink for a while." Lena agreed, knowing that she should, so that she wouldn't have an attack. When it was showed that they all agreed, they started heading to a restaurant, seeing that they were also hungry.

When they were almost there, Rukia decided that maybe her husband was also hungry.

"Have you met Ichigo?" Rukia asked, saying that she would go get him when Lena shook her head. They looked ahead, seeing him. "Oh, there he is! I'll go get him!" Rukia said, quickly going to get him. Lena saw where she was going, and when she got to him, Lena covered her mouth with her hand, that way they wouldn't be able to read her lips, and pretended to itch her nose.

"Does he really have orange hair?" She whispered, Renji nodding slightly. "Wow. Is that normal?" She asked. Renji coughed into his hand, trying to stop from laughing. Unfortunately for Renji, Rukia and Ichigo had already gotten back.

"Why are you trying not to laugh?" Rukia asked, confused, when she recognized that cough.

"Just something that Lena-chan said." He replied, managing to get over the urge to laugh. He glanced at Lena from the corner of his eye, and saw that her hands were clasped together in front of her.

"Okay. Ichigo, this is Lena Monoty, the new lieutenant of the 13th Division." Rukia said to Ichigo, then turned to Lena to introduce her husband to her. "Lena-chan, this is my hausband, Ichigo Kurosaki, captain of the 5th division." Rukia said, introducing Lena to him.

"Nice to meet you, Kurosaki-taicho!" Lena said, knowing that even though she would rather call him carrot-chan, she knew that she had to show her superior some respect. Rukia laughed, amused.

"Well nice to meet you too. But you don't have to be so formal." Ichigo said, laughing. "From what I can tell, you're Rukia's friend so…" Ichigo said, knowing that she was Rukia's friend by the way Rukia had always said her name.

"If you knew what I would call you, you would rather that I be formal." She said, warning him. But when he just shrugged and said that he would take it, Lena smiled, saying, "Well, then, it's your funeral, Carrot-chan!" She said, Ichigo sighing. Rukia paused, realizing why Renji had tried so hard from laughing earlier. She went to him, planning on seeing if she was correct.

"So, tell me, Renji, did Lena make a joke about Ichigo's hair? Is that why you were trying not to laugh earlier?" She asked, seeing Lena and Ichigo talking.

"Well, not really." He replied, pausing. "She asked if his hair was really orange, to which I said yes. And then she asked if it was normal." Renji said, making Rukia laugh, seeing as how she didn't have to worry.

"What's so funny Rukia?" Ichigo asked, having paused to let them catch up.

"I just found out what was so funny to Renji before." Rukia replied and, when Ichigo gave her a confused look she just shook her head, giving him a look that said that she'd tell him later. She glanced at Renji and Lena, smiling happily when she saw Lena talking to him. She had missed her friend; the Seireitei had been dark without the girl.

Lena smiled, happy once again. While the two people she had come to view as sisters over the years won't here, she was with the people she had known a long time ago… and had missed badly.

* * *

><p>Hope that you like that! And such a cheesy way to end a chapter! Oh well! Reviews are more than welcome!<p> 


	6. Chapter 6 Sickly Captains

Wow! Okay, so here is chapter 6! Weird chapter name, but oh well! S'il vous plaît profiter. And that is french for, please enjoy!

_Still do not own Bleach or any of its characters! Lena, Kie and Jared are still mine and the only thing in this story that I own. And no money is being made off of this story._

* * *

><p><em><strong>Return of the Missing<strong>_

_**Chapter 6**_ Sickly Captains and 3 Days 'till D-Day

"Where is Ukitake-taicho?" Lena asked Kiyone and Sentaro the next day as she walked into the office.

"He wasn't feeling well, so he had to relax today; more like, he was told to by Unohana-taicho." Kiyone replied, meaning to beat Sentaro to it. Lena said okay, going over to her desk and sitting down. She looked at the paperwork, thinking that she probably had it easy.

"Are you feeling alright, Lena-chan?" Sentaro asked randomly a little while later. Lena paused, looking up at the two looking at her and smiling.

"No, I'm alright. Any reason why you asked?" She asked, curious.

"Just making sure. We have to do that with Ukitake-taicho, or else he'll never stop, even if he is feeling ill." Kiyone and Sentaro replied at the same time, each glaring daggers at the other. Lena laughed, thinking about how much that sounded like Ukitake.

"Well, thank you for checking." She said to them, giving them both a smile. They felt their hearts lift, and both started trying to beat the other, making Lena chuckle inside her head as she went back to working.

After working for a while, Kiyone and Sentaro took all finished paperwork, planning on delivering it so that Lena wouldn't have to. Lena sighed after they left, but continued to work.

_"What, do they think that I'm so weak that I can't even go and deliver paperwork without getting sick?"_ Lena thought, slightly mad. She had been about to get up to deliver the paperwork when Kiyone and Sentaro decided to do it. Probably so that she wouldn't, Lena guessed. She frowned down at the paper she was supposed to be signing, putting the pen down so that she wouldn't accidently break it when her hand clenched. Her eyebrows furrowed, and she wondered why she was getting so mad over this. Sighing, she went back to working, hoping that she would calm down soon.

When they got back, Lena was humming, working in what appeared to be a happy way. She had calmed down, knowing that she was being slightly childish. She smiled at them as they realized that she only had a small pile left.

"Did we really take that long to deliver the paperwork?" Kiyone asked, curious.

"No, you actually were quite fast. It's just that we didn't have much, which was what I was trying to tell you two." She said, amused.

"Wait, you were trying to tell us something?" Senataro asked, shocked. When Lena nodded, both Kiyone and Sentaro panicked.

"You should punish me, for I didn't listen to you!" Kiyone said, bowing in front of Lena.

"No! You should punish me!"

"You copy-cat!" Kiyone said to him, frowning in his direction. Before either of them could continue, Lena interrupted. Although she was amused by their antics, she was also betting that she would eventually get annoyed by this.

"No, I'm not going to punish either of you. I was never even mad- I only said that to let you know. Truly, I was never mad." She said, both of them calming down. "Anyway, is this less paperwork than what we normally get?" She asked, truly curious. Because it didn't seem like it took them a while to get it all finished.

"Yeah, it is. But when Ukitake-taicho isn't here there are only me and Sentaro doing the paperwork, and with how often Ukitake-taicho is gone, and he's sometimes gone for a while because of an attack, it can add up." Kiyone explained, having beaten Sentaro to it. Lena nodded, suddenly realizing just how lucky that she was that she was usually lucky and managed to not have many attacks.

Sentaro paused, suddenly confused. "What day is it?" He asked randomly. Lena thought about it for a moment.

"I believe it is May 5th. That sounds correct." She said as she checked her calendar, than nodded when she was correct.

"Okay. When's your birthday?" He continued. Lena frowned, realizing something.

"It's in three days." She said, shocked. It had come quickly this year.

"Anything you want?" Kiyone and Sentaro asked at the same time, both of them then glaring daggers at the other. Lena sighed, shaking her head.

"No. Nothing at all." She said, signing another paper. At this point there was only one paper left after this one.

"Nothing at all?" Kiyone asked, not believing her. There had to be _one_ thing that Lena wanted. When Lena said that she had nothing in particular that she wanted, Kiyone frowned in thought. "Okay. What kinds of food do you like?"

"Food?" Lena asked, confused. When Kiyone nodded she thought about it, answering after about half a minute. "I like apples." Kiyone nodded, making mental note of that.

"Okay. Do you like gloves?" She asked, thinking about a cheap store. Lena was confused. They were just talking about food- and now gloves? When Lena nodded Kiyone made note of that as well. Sentaro was confused as well. What was Kiyone doing? Then he realized what she was doing- making a list of what she was going to get for Lena. Meaning that she would manage to out-show him.

Sentaro thought, not having the slightest idea as to what he should get. He couldn't get Lena apples or gloves- for one, he would be copying Kiyone and, two- he wasn't the best with style.

"Do you like drawing?" He asked, finally thinking of something.

"Yes, I do." She said, getting used to their questions. She signed the paper but made no move to get up. Sentaro was happy- he knew the perfect thing to get her- and knew where to get her it.

"Do you color it, or do you just sketch?" He asked, knowing that just the one thing wouldn't be enough.

"Yeah, I just sketch. Not the best with coloring." She said, laughing nervously and rubbing the back of her head. Sentaro marked that all down, thinking that he would go and get her gifts that night. Kiyone and Sentaro noticed that she was finished, both of them getting up and grabbing the paperwork.

"Is this it?" Kiyone checked, making sure that there was not any more. When Lena nodded, they said they were going to deliver it. "And, since there is nothing else for us to do we don't need to be here."

"Okay. I'll leave behind you and lock up." Lena said, putting her stuff up, suddenly glad that she hadn't had any time, or money at that, to get anything other than what she needed. She watched as Kiyone and Sentaro left, both trying to beat the other, making Lena laugh to herself as she followed them out and locked the office up.

Lena smiled, walking outside and getting onto the roof, that way she could look around. Which was where Kiyone found her later, staring out onto the 13th division.

"So, any reason as to why you are on the roof?" Kiyone asked, sitting down by Lena.

"You're up here too." She replied, unable to help herself. When Kiyone sighed she continued. "Sorry. I couldn't help myself. I just felt like looking at the barrack." She said, coming up with what was most likely a good answer; after all, she had just felt like going there- she didn't realize that there was a reason.

"Okay." She looked over at Lena, realizing that she had something on her mind. "What's on your mind?"

"Just wondering if I should check on Ukitake-taicho." She replied, frowning in thought.

"Maybe, though it might be a little weird if you don't know what to say." Kiyone replied honestly, thinking it was better than lying.

"Yeah, you're right. I have absolutely no idea as to what I would say, so I don't think I will." She replied, furrowing her eyebrows. Plus, this was her first _real_ day as lieutenant, and she hadn't seen him in many years, so that would make it somewhat awkward.

"Well, it's about dinner time, so do you want to join me in getting some food from the cafeteria?" Kiyone asked, remembering the time.

"Sure." Lena said, smiling. They got up, Kiyone slightly panicking when Lena walked over to the edge, looking down to make sure that no one was there, and jumping off. Kiyone walked, quickly, to make sure she was alright, sighing a breath of relief when she was that Lena was. She followed suit, making an "oomph" when she hit the ground. Lena smiled at Kiyone, both of them then proceeding to the cafeteria.

That night, when Lena went back to her house, she looked some pictures that she had. The first one she looked at was of her and her two friends from the Rukongai, Mina and June. She smiled, and then looked at the next one. It was one that had already been here when she got here, meaning it was from when she was still a kid. The picture was of her and her brother. Lena was on his back, holding on and making it so that her head ended up higher than Kie's head. They were both smiling, though it looked like Kie was also slightly unhappy. It could be because there was marker on his face. It was taken after he had become a shinigami.

Lena smiled down at the picture, grabbing it and sitting down on the floor. A couple of tears formed in her eyes, falling down. She whispered his name, suddenly realizing just how much she missed him.

* * *

><p>Okay! Hope that you like where this is going! Please review and leave your thoughts.<p> 


	7. Chapter 7 Birthday Wishes

Okay. Chapter 7 is a bit shorter than most chapters I think. Oh well! Please enjoy!

_Still do not own Bleach or any of it's characters. Still own Lena, Kie and Jared. Still do not make any money off of this._

* * *

><p><em><strong>Return of the Missing<strong>_

_**Chapter 7**_ Birthday Wishes

A couple days later, three to be exact, Lena was in the office, doing paperwork and talking to Ukitake.

"Any idea as to where Kiyone and Sentaro are?" Lena asked, looking around. From what she had seen these last couple of days they were always there.

"No. They usually are here long before now. I wonder what could be keeping them." Ukitake replied, also looking around. Lena swallowed, nervous. Ukitake heard her, and glance at her, asking what was wrong.

"Well, a couple of days ago, on the fifth to be exact, Kiyone and Sentaro were asking me a thousand questions about what I wanted for my birthday. It's my birthday today, and they're nowhere to be found." She replied. That morning, when she walked in, Ukitake, who had gotten there first, had wished her a happy birthday.

(**Author's Note:** Anyone know what this means: "hand wished her a happy birthday."? Because my computer says that is how it should be. The only hand signs that I can think of are sign language [duh] and flipping people off. Sorry, but Ukitake doesn't sound like the person to flip another one off. Okay. Sorry- just felt putting this in.)

A couple minutes later, the door opened, Kiyone and Sentaro walking in, smiling. Walking over to Lena's desk, Kiyone put down a basket of apples, along with a pair of gloves, onto it. Sentaro put a drawing sketchbook that had the picture of a cherry-blossom tree on it along with some drawing pencils.

"Happy Birthday, Lena!" They said at the same time, for once not stopping to glare at the other. Lena looked at them, slightly shocked.

"Um, thank you." Lena said, having not expected that. Kiyone and Sentaro smiled, going and getting to work. She piled the gifts up neatly, putting them off to the side of her desk and continuing to work.

-:-

A couple of days later, Kiyone, Sentaro and Ukitake were at the office. It was the morning, and they were waiting for Lena to arrive. It wasn't like she was late- she was just slightly later than usual.

Randomly, Kiyone walked out of the office, not saying anything. Sentaro and Ukitake watched her, Sentaro wondering aloud about why she had done that, voicing what they were both thinking. A couple minutes later, Kiyone came back, but this time Lena was with her.

"So, you decided to try to get brownie points and walk Lena-chan here, did you?" Sentaro said, frowning.

"No. I just thought that I would be kind to my fukitaicho and walk her here." Kiyone replied, sitting down and continuing to work on paperwork.

"Hello Sentaro-kun. Hello Ukitake-taicho." Lena said, greeting the two males as she sat down and started to work on her paperwork. Sentaro gave a enthusiastic hello, Ukitake nodding, smiling and saying hello.

Suddenly, a couple of minutes later, Sentaro suddenly stopped, looking at Lena and asking, "So, why did Kiyone suddenly go and get you?"

"Well, when she had done that I was already on my way here, but I had stopped because I got distracted. Apparently Kiyone-chan sensed that, so she came and made sure that I actually made it here." Lena said, shrugging it off as she signed another piece of paper.

A couple of hours later, Kiyone and Sentaro had gone out to eat lunch really quickly, leaving Lena and Ukitake alone in the office.

"How have you been doing as fukitaicho here?" Ukitake asked, trying to make a conversation with Lena.

"It's been going great! I really love being fukitaicho." She said, smiling wide and signing yet another piece of paperwork.

"That's good." Ukitake said, also signing paperwork. He frowned in his head- what should he say? Lena spared him from having to rack his brain too much.

"Do you want to join me for dinner?" She asked, thinking that nothing was wrong with that. In theory, nothing was wrong with that; but when people hear of that- namely Rangiku- then it becomes wrong.

"Sure. Do you have anything planned, or did you want to go out to a restaurant?"

"A restaurant. I heard of a little café- cheap of course- that opened not too long ago. I've been meaning to try it out." She said, remembering what she had been planning. Going to that café had been her original plan for dinner, but she decided that it was a good time to get caught up.

"I think I know where you're talking about. Do you mean SilverMoon?" He asked, recalling the café that had opened up maybe 5 years ago.

"Yes, that's the one!" Lena said, pausing in signing the paperwork and grinning over at her captain. "Have you been there yet?"

"No, I haven't. But I've heard there is good food there from everyone that has been there." He said, recalling what he had heard about SilverMoon.

"So, what time do you think what be good for dinner?" She asked, trying to figure everything out. She always needed to know a lot of the details; her friends from the Rukongai had made fun of her for that a lot.

"How about seven? I believe that we'll either be finished, or close to finished, with all the paperwork, and maybe Kiyone-chan and Sentaro-san will be off at their own dinner." Ukitake said, using reason to come up when they would go out.

"Sounds good to me." Lena said, having to change what she was originally going to say to that. She was going to say "sounds like a date to me", but she realized that it might not be a good idea. They continued their paperwork, making small talk as they did.

* * *

><p>Wow! The story is progressing somewhat fast. Oh well! It's going good! Reviews are still more than welcomed! :)<p> 


	8. Chapter 8 Rendezvous at Seven

Hello again! Sorry it took me so long to get this up- not only did I have troubles writing it (I didn't know how to write it) so it turned out rushed, but I also had troubles getting internet. I've actually have had this done for almost a week now! But oh well! Here it is! :)

_**Disclaimer:**_ I do not own Bleach or any of its characters, though I do own Lena and Kie and Jared. I am not making any money off of this.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Return of the Missing<strong>_

_**Chapter 8 **_Rendezvous at seven

Time seemed to move slowly for Ukitake and Lena. Well, it did on paper. In reality, time moved too fast for their tastes. It's not like they were dreading having dinner with each other, it's just that they didn't know what to say to each other.

Seven came, and, luckily for Ukitake and Lena, Kiyone and Sentaro had gone out for dinner, so Lena just left a note saying that they were going out to eat and would be back in an hour or so.

Walking into the Silver-Moon café, Lena noted that it was a nice little place. The atmosphere was nice, and it wasn't loud and crazy. Sitting down, they looked over the menu, deciding what looked good or not. About a minute later, the waitress came up, taking their order.

"So, this seems like a nice little place. If the food is any good I'll have to put it on my list on places to come back to." Lena said, trying to make a conversation. After all, after they had ordered neither of them had spoken, and it was starting to get on her nerves.

"It is nice. And, with what I have gotten the few times I have been here, the food is good." Ukitake agreed. "I would come here more often, but I never have the time, or don't think to."

"Well, since I now am also doing the paperwork you have less to do yourself, so maybe you'll have more time." Lena said, trying to optimistic.

"You are correct. I might be able to come here more often and try more of their food." He said, but before the conversation could continue the waitress came with their tea.

After she had left, Lena sipped her tea, seeing what needed to be added. After mentally figuring it out she grabbed the honey, putting a little in her tea and mixing it. When she thought that she had mixed it enough, she sipped it again, making a noise of content.

Ukitake watched in amusement as Lena fixed her tea in an almost compulsive way, putting a little bit of sugar in his own tea.

"This is good tea. Not as good as the tea that my friend makes, but almost. Which is a compliment to them, not an insult." Lena said, taking another sip of her tea before putting her cup down. Ukitake took a sip of his own tea, decided that it was good, and put it down.

"What type did you get?" He asked, curious; he hadn't caught the type of tea she had asked for.

"I got peach tea. I don't drink many types of tea, mainly peach. What about you? Sorry, I had gotten distracted. It happens to me sometimes." She said, Ukitake smiling.

"Green tea." He said, not really saying much. Because what was there to say? Lena smiled, understanding. She didn't know what to say either.

"Never quite got a taste for that. But, then again, I haven't had it in a while, so maybe my taste has changed." She said, smiling largely.

"I gradually got a taste for it. Took me a while, but it helps, somehow, with me not having any attacks." He said, smiling back.

"Hmm, never thought of green tea helping out, but I guess that it's logical, with what people say about green tea."

"Good point." Ukitake said, agreeing.

"So," Lena said, trying to start a conversation. "The weather. It's been good!" She said, going to the default topic, making Ukitake laugh.

"It's been very good. Stayed in the 80s, weird for May." Ukitake said, knowing that _he_ would have not had said anything.

"Oh well! I think that good things are bound to happen; this good weather is an omen of that." She said, sounding very wise. But, before Ukitake could reply she continued. "Either that or we are in for some very bad stuff. But, most likely a combination of that." She finished, smiling.

"That's a depressing way to look at things." He said, thinking that the two things that she had said were pretty different, almost opposites.

"Yes well, it is the realistic way of looking at things. I prefer to look at the good side of things, but one of the people that I talked to has a very depressing way of looking at things, realistic as she said. I guess that it rubbed off on me somewhat." She shrugged. "To each their own, I guess." Nonchalantly she grabbed her cup, not fazed by the seriousness of what she was saying, nor at the fact that the last thing that she said made absolutely no sense.

"You have a point." Ukitake said, not really knowing what to say.

"And there is the waitress with our food." She nodded to the girl holding the two plates heading towards their table. They took their food, nodding their heads in response. They started eating, neither really talking expect for a couple of seconds after they started eating, Lena saying that it was good.

"You know, before I came back to the Seireitei I hadn't had meat for a while." She said, laughing.

"Why is that?" Ukitake asked, curious.

"Well, the one of us that always got food was a vegetarian and because _she_ got the food she didn't see it in her to kill anything so that I and my other friend could get meat." She laughed, taking a small bite.

"You know, you talk about those two a lot. I can tell that you are really close, so why didn't you three join the academy together?"

"It's a long story that I don't really feel like going through." She said, waving his question away with a small wave of her hand. It's not like she didn't want to talk about them. It's just that it didn't make sense to talk about it.

"Okay I'll respect that." He said, not at all insulted. But, before their conversation could continue, a person suddenly came over, hugging Lena tightly. Once she was finally released, she saw that it was Rangiku Matsumoto. She had met her not long before she had been kidnapped, and then saw her again when she was hanging out with Ichigo, Rukia and Renji.

"Lena-chan!" She said, smiling largely. "And hello, Ukitake-taicho." She said, nodding toward the captain, who was watching them in amusement.

"Hello Rangiku-chan." He said, greeting her. Rangiku looked at them, deciding on something. Finally she came to a decision.

_"Are you two on a date?"_ She asked Lena in a whisper. Lena blushed, frowning slightly and shaking her head, replying in a whisper.

_"No, just having dinner. Nothing wrong with that."_ She said, not knowing why a male and female couldn't go and have a meal together without people assuming that it was a date. Rangiku smiled, nodding.

"Well, it looks like I am interrupting something here, so I'll excuse myself." She said, ignoring what Lena had said. With a wave, Rangiku walked off. But, there was no real point in her leaving, seeing as how, at that point, Ukitake and Lena had both finished eating and were just waiting for the check. A minute later the waitress came, putting the check in the middle of the table. Ukitake grabbed it, saying that he would take it.

A couple of minutes later they were going back to the office, Lena still blushing over Ukitake having paid for her meal. When they got to the office, Kiyone and Sentaro greeted them enthusiastically, having been waiting for them, though they had had a competition on who could do the most paperwork. They watched as their two higher ups went back to work, then both followed suit.

-:-

That night, after the paperwork was all done, Lena went back to her house, sighing as she sat down on her bed, thinking. After yawning, she looked at the clock, frowning at the fact that it was about ten, explaining why she was so tired. Sighing she got up, quickly running downstairs to make sure that all the doors were locked, which they were. Going back upstairs, she went back in her room, closing the door despite the fact that no one else was there. Going back to her bed, she took off her uniform, replacing it with a tank top and pajama shorts, folding the uniform up and away as she opened her door back up.

A couple of minutes later she was in bed, still thinking. Thinking about why Rangiku had assumed that it was a date. With yet another sigh she decided to give up on figuring it out. Rangiku was a difficult person to figure out and trying to figure out why she did that she did was even harder. Best not to even try.

* * *

><p>I hope that you liked it! Please Review!<p> 


	9. Chapter 9 Terror in the Morning

Thank you LaliLali for the review! It was my very first review, and it made my life have meaning again! And I'm so glad that you like it so far! What you said actually inspired the first part of this chapter! And because of what you said, I now know how to improve what I am writing! I am going to try to put what you said to work (you had several points!). To be honest, when I was on my email and saw that on one of my stories I had I review I about had a heart attack! (In a good way, of course.) But, once again, thank you! And, about the grammar, I trust Microsoft Word _way_ too much! And I apparently don't proof read enough… And with chapter 3 (the attack) I _did_ rush it! I'm sorry! I, for some reason, while writing it I just wanted to get through with it and to the present! Sorry!

So now that I have finished a huge speech, please enjoy chapter 9.

**Disclaimer: **_I do not own Bleach or any of its characters, though I do own Lena and Jared and Kie and any other OCs that are here. I do not make a profit off of this._

* * *

><p><em><strong>Return of the Missing<strong>_

_**Chapter 9**_ Terror in the Morning with a Chance of Jealousy in the Day

The next couple of days went by uneventful, and eventually 'days' became 'weeks. Soon enough it was June, and Lena had been the lieutenant for a whole month without incident.

But, on this specific day, Lena was late- something that she _never_ was. While it was only a couple of minutes, Kiyone and Sentaro, and secretly Ukitake, were worried about her. So, Kiyone decided to go check on Lena.

A couple of minutes later, Kiyone was at Lena's house, knocking on the front door. When there was no response, she walked in, calling out Lena's name and hoping that nothing was wrong. Walking up the stairs she walked into Lena's room, seeing that it was dark, but bright enough for Kiyone to see Lena sleeping.

Pausing, she listened to the girl's breathing, seeing if it was labored. But when it sounded normal she breathed a sigh of relief. She wasn't sick-she just had overslept.

"Lena-chan. Wake up! It's time for duty!" She called, hoping that would wake her up. Luckily it did. Kiyone smiled when Lena opened her eyes, looking over to see who had woke her up. Suddenly, shocking Kiyone, she glared daggers at her. She felt shivers go down her spine. _This_ was her nice lieutenant?

"What is it Kiyone?" She asked, ice in her voice. "What do you want?"

"I-I-I-I j-just came to-to g-g-g-get you. You-you-you're l-late." Kiyone stuttered, terrified for her life. After all, Lena graduated in one year because she deserved to. Lena frowned, looking at her clock.

"Okay. I'm up." She said, still somewhat moody. Kiyone left the room, turning the light on and closing the door, praying that she made the right choice in doing that, as well as waiting in the hallway for her.

A couple of minutes later, the door opened, Lena walking out dressed in her uniform looking like she usually did but with a sheepish look on her face.

"I'm sorry I had to wake you up!" Kiyone said at once before Lena could say anything.

"No, you have nothing to apologize about. I should say sorry to you. You were just trying to be nice; I went and glared death at you. Sorry." She said, hoping that it would get through to Kiyone. But, of course, it didn't. She was still terrified, making their walk back to the 13th division and the office one that was awkward. After a couple of minutes, when they were about to walk into the office Lena tried again. "I really shouldn't have overreacted like that. Truly, I'm sorry."

"You know what, I also overreacted. I shouldn't have acted like it was the end of the world." Kiyone replied, having managed to calm down, though she was still a bit pale.

"Was my glare really that scary?"

"Yes, it was." She said, not wanting to lie. Suddenly she thought of something. "I'm putting Sentaro on Wake-Up-Lena duty. Maybe that will get him from trying to out show me." She said, smirking.

"Wow!" She said as they were walking into the office. "How vindictive of you!" She said, making Sentaro and Ukitake, who had only heard that part of the conversation, confused. As Lena went to her desk, Kiyone having gone to the couch that she always went to, Lena remembered what time it was. "I'm sorry that I'm late!" She apologized, truly feeling bad.

"It's okay. We're not mad." He said, smiling at her.

"Oh, Sentaro!" Kiyone sang, suddenly remembering her plan. "You can be on the Wake-Up-Lena duty from now on!" Sentaro frowned, confused. Wouldn't that give _him_ good points?

"Um, okay." He said, not really knowing what to say. A silence fell upon them, the only sound being the scratching of pens of paper as they all did paperwork.

-:-

The next day Lena was on time, but when she walked into the office, she saw only Kiyone and Sentaro. She walked over to her desk as she asked "Is Ukitake-taicho sick today?"

"Yes, when we went to check on him he said that not only did the heat get to him but he also had accidently overworked himself." Kiyone replied, beating Sentaro to the explanation. Lena nodded, going to work and deciding that after she finished that afternoon she would go check on him.

-:-

That afternoon, Lena went over the Ugendo to check on her captain. Eventually she made it to where Ukitake was relaxing, sighing at how he was. "You look like crap Captain." She said, making him jump slightly as he looked over at her.

"Ah, hello Lena-chan." He said, greeting her. "How do you avoid having so many attacks?" He asked, wondering whatever her secret could be.

"Simple. Not only do I drink a tea that helps me out that a friend invented, I also know my weakness and am not afraid to say that too much is too much and know when that is." She honestly said, not feeling like lying. Ukitake nodded.

"Okay." He said, making Lena smile.

"If I recall, I could give you some of the tea. My friend taught me how to make it, though hers always turns out twenty times better." She offered, not feeling like seeing him sick.

"If you wouldn't mind. Thank you." He said, having the need to be polite.

"Okay! I'll try to recall tomorrow, but I won't make any guarantees that I will remember to." She said, smiling and laughing quietly to herself. Ukitake laughed a little too, but his ended in coughing. "Well, I'm sorry, I know that you probably want company but someone decided that they wanted to hang out with me tonight and told me that I was meeting up with them without asking to see if I had any plans so I'm off to met him now." She said, thinking about how earlier that day Jared had come and told her that at that night she was going to meet up with him.

"Okay. I hope that you have a good evening." Ukitake said, trying to suppress the bit of jealousy that came up when she said that she was meeting up with _'him'_.

"I will. Hope you get better." She said, smiling as she got up and made to leave. "If you don't act so stupid this wouldn't happen." She said, having been wanting to say that the whole time but not having found a good time till then. Ukitake stared at the door that Lena had just left through, confused at what she had said.

-:-

The next day, like the day before, Lena was late. Expect this time instead of just Kiyone going to check on her Sentaro went along. The reason being that Kiyone had a bad feeling and wanted to be there so that there was a female to help Lena in case she had an attack and Sentaro was there so he knew how bad it was waking Lena up.

When they got there, after Kiyone knocked they went in, seeing as how there was no response. Walking in they walked up the steps, looking into Lena's room seeing that it was dimly lit. Walking in they heard that Lena's breathing was labored, saying that she was having an attack.

"Lena-chan. Are you okay?" Kiyone asked tentatively, as to not scare her.

"Sorry, should have sent a hell butterfly to say I wasn't coming." She replied from her mound of blankets. When she confirmed that Lena was having an attack she pushed Sentaro out of the room, telling him to go boil some tea. "The tea bag by the stove that says peach tea. Use that." Lena called, seeing as how that was the medicine tea. Sentaro nodded, going and getting on that.

A couple of minutes later Kiyone was taking care of Lena, giving her the cup of tea that Sentaro handed her. "How do you know how to take care of me?" Lena asked after Kiyone had sent Sentaro back to the office to continue working on paperwork and to tell Ukitake why Lena wouldn't be there and why she would be there in a couple of minutes.

"Well, my sister is the lieutenant of the 4th division, and I asked her for tips on how to take care of Ukitake so that I can do that." Kiyone admitted, showing that beneath the whole auguring with Sentaro on who was better than the other she really was serious in taking care of Ukitake. "So, any reason why you suddenly had an attack?"

"Yes- I got drenched in cold water giving me a cold and forcing an attack." She said, thinking about how Jared had 'accidently' drenched her in freezing cold water. Sometimes she thought that he was trying to kill her.

"Wow. If a person did that to you, even if you weren't sick with what you have I would think that they were trying to kill you." She said, making Lena laugh, which made her cough up a long of blood into a washcloth. "And I think that when I start making you cough up blood it is time for me to leave." Kiyone said, quickly making sure everything was how she was told it should be and leaving.

-:-

"Is Lena okay?" Ukitake asked once Kiyone got back. Sentaro had told him that Lena had had an attack and wouldn't be able to come in that day, but he wanted to know how bad it was.

"She will be. She probably won't come in tomorrow; apparently she got drenched in freezing cold water which eventually made her have this attack." She explained, recalling what Lena had told her.

Ukitake nodded, going back to work in what he hoped was a nonchalant way. But Kiyone noticed something was up. But instead of asking about it she just let it go. Everything, in time, would come to light and be explained. All she had to do was be patient and play her role.

* * *

><p>Okay, hope that you liked that! Please review so that you can say your opinions and how you think this story should be improved. Thank you, again, LaliLali! :)<p> 


	10. Chapter 10 Time for Thinking Leads to

Okay! Here is chapter ten! I don't know how long it took to update, but I think that it took a month or almost a month to update this and I am sorry. At first it was due another problem, and then recently I tried to and the internet wouldn't let me upload it to the document manager. But, anyway, here it is. Please enjoy its quickness, due to the fact that I rushed it. And it will take a while for me to get the 11th chapter up due to lack of ideas for the next chapter and the fact that I am now rushing a lot of it. You will see why soon.

**_Disclaimer:_** I do not own Bleach or any of its characters. I only own my OCs. I will not make any money off of this.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Return of the Missing<strong>_

_Chapter 10_ Time for Thinking Leads to Thoughts

With a sigh Kiyone went into the office, greeting Sentaro and Ukitake. Lena was still sick today, yesterday being the day that she first got sick.

"I guess that Lena-chan is still sick?" Ukitake said, looking up from working on his paperwork. When she nodded he continued to work.

Later that day at Lena's house, she groaned as she coughed up a lung into the washcloth, and then sighed when she saw the blood in it. As soon as she got better, she was going to _kill_ Jared for doing this to her!

"Lena-chan!" She heard Kiyone call from downstairs. Must be the end of the workday Lena thought. A couple of seconds later Kiyone walked into the door, smiling at Lena in greeting. "So, how are you feeling now?" she asked, walking to Lena and feeling her forehead to see if she was running a fever. Check- fever.

"I've been better. If I am not better by the day after tomorrow I'm going to go to Captain Unohana and see if she can help." She replied, sighing. She had tried to use the techniques that she was taught by her friend, but, for once, none of them had worked. Yep, she was going to kill Jared.

"Yeah, that is a good idea." Kiyone replied, grabbing the bag she had brought, which had a thermometer in it. She frowned a couple minutes later, having taken Lena's temperature. "But, with how hot your temperature is I think that you should go see her today. It is 104.6 degrees Fahrenheit."

"That's not good." Lena replied, rolling her eyes at her luck.

"Yeah, that's the truth." Kiyone replied, sighing in response. After checking on Lena's pulse and checking a couple of other things Kiyone left, saying that she had other things that she had to do. After she had left Lean sighed, glancing over at the pictures she had in the room.

'_What would Kie do if he was still alive._' She thought, looking at the picture of him. Then she glance at the picture of her and her friends. '_What would June do?_' After a couple of seconds she frowned. She missed June and Mina. Before she had gone to the academy, she had always been with them since they became a group of misfit friends. And now they were not even in the academy and wouldn't be until early September, a couple of months away. Oh, how she missed her friends.

-:-

Two days later, Lena was in the 4th division, seeing as how she was still sick.

"What happened to cause you to get this attack? And how long ago was it?" Unohana asked after she had minimized Lena's symptoms.

"Okay. Three days ago I had extremely cold water splashed on me, and I couldn't get out of those clothes for a couple of minutes." She replied. Mad as she may be she wasn't going to try to get Jared in trouble. Unohana nodded, now knowing what to do to help her.

Half an hour later Lena was better, now no longer sick as she had been treated by the captain. But Unohana had noticed something, and she wanted to know the solution to it. "Why is it that your lungs are so healthy even though you have TB?" Maybe there was some secret that she had found that Unohana hadn't.

"My friend thought of some crazy techniques, and before I met her I learned some ways from another person that was an expert with TB. I guess that is how my lungs are so healthy." Lena shrugged, not sure if that is how it really how her lungs were still so healthy.

"Which one do you think made a bigger impact?" Unohana asked, wanting to know.

"My friend. Her techniques are quite weird but they help me so much." Lena replied, smiling in her head as she thought of her friend.

"Is she currently in the Seireitei?" she asked, wanting to know so that if the answer was yes she could track down the person.

"No, but she will soon be joining the academy." Unohana nodded, deciding that she should talk to this person as soon as she got there. But, who knows how long that will take.

-:-

"Please spare me Len-len-fukitaicho!" Jared said the day later, trying to get away from Lena's anger. She had thirty minutes before she had to get to the office, and from where she was it would take her ten minutes walking.

"You had me sick in bed for three days. Three days, gosh darnit!" She glared, crossing her arms and frowning at him. Jared felt a shiver of fear go down his spine. Lena could be scary when she wanted to!

"I know. I know that you won't believe me, but I am honestly sorry. I really did not mean to do that. I swear." He said. It was the truth- he didn't mean to hit her with the water. But, with how sick she had been he doubted that she would believe him. He deserved it though.

She frowned. She sensed that he was being honest and that he hadn't really meant to hurt her. But she didn't want to forgive him. Jared gave her a pleading look, making _Lena_ feel bad for not wanting to forgive him. It was almost impossible to _not_ forgive. "Fine. But, if you ever do it again I will never forgive you." She said, giving him a hard look.

Jared nodded, smiling and hugging Lena. "Thank you so much! I don't deserve to have you as my friend. I use and abuse you way too much." Sighing, he let go of her. Contrary to what people said at the academy, he didn't like her, at least in _that_ way. She was like a little sister to him.

"Well, mellow over this while I head to the office." She said, smiling and heading to the office when he said bye.

Ten minutes later, Lena reached the office. Walking in she smiled as Sentaro and Kiyone greeted her enthusiastically.

"Hello Lena-chan. How are you feeling?" Ukitake asked after the third seats had quieted down.

"Fine now, thank you." She politely responded. With a wide smile she walked over to her desk, not surprised when there wasn't much paperwork on it. After all, Sentaro and Kiyone always worked on her paperwork when she _was_ there. She was betting that since she wasn't there they did all the paperwork both days. But she didn't mind. Less work for her.

"You're a little earlier than you usually are." Ukitake noted. She had gotten there with fifteen minutes left to spare. Usually she got there barely on time.

"Well, I was yelling at the person who was the cause of me being sick. And then I thought that I had less time then I really had. That is why." She said, putting the top piece of the stack in front of her and going over it.

Ukitake nodded, understanding. "So, did they do that on accident?" He asked, curious. Lena nodded.

"Yes, he said that he doubted that I would believe him but he swore that he didn't mean to do that. I saw that he wasn't lying, so I had to accept it." She shrugged, continuing on. "Plus, I had a feeling that he wouldn't do something like that to me." She didn't explain, but instead started to work on the paperwork.

Ukitake felt an odd sense of jealousy. Did this mean that they were together? And why did the thought of Lean having a boyfriend that _wasn't_ him annoy him? "Why do you say that?" He asked, wanting to know the answer, but also oddly afraid of hearing that they were dating. What was up with him? She was his lieutenant and they hadn't been talking for that long. It made no sense.

"Well, he sees me as if I was his little sister. I don't think that if he actually had a little sister that he would do that to her. Just my opinion." She paused in her paperwork and looked at him, smiling, wondering why her heart skipped a beat when he returned her smile. She had noticed, out of the corner of her eye, that something about his posture had been odd. But she had dismissed it, and she still was dismissing it.

Ukitake felt relieved, and, at the same time, confused as to why he felt relieved. At a lack of what to say he just nodded in response, going back to his paperwork. Right afterwards he glanced back up, confused as he heard giggling; just Lena. But, why was she giggling?

"You thought that I was dating him." She said, making him get surprised. Kiyone and Sentaro, who had been watching in amusement at the exchange, were surprised that she had realized that. They hadn't even realized that, and they were supposed to know him better than her. "No, I don't think I would ever date him. While he does know when to be serious, and is sweet at those times, he is also extremely annoying."

Ukitake nodded, understanding it all. Expect for one part. "How did you know that I was thinking that?" He risked, not quite sure on what her response would be.

"I've spent my whole life watching to people and use those to make connections to emotions and also listen to what they say and _how_ they say it and make connections. It was kinda obvious that you were thinking that, at least to me it was." Lena explained, shrugging. Ukitake frowned, thinking. Was it really _easy_ to read him? He glanced over at Kiyone and Sentaro, who seemed to be confused as well. Maybe he was… "No, just to answer you." She said, making them all jump and glance over at her.

"No, what?" He asked; after all, he hadn't said anything.

"No, it wasn't really easy to read you. Like I said, I spend a lot of my time learning people and their expressions. That was the only reason that I can read you." She said, smiling and signing a piece of paper. Ukitake nodded, deciding that there was nothing that he could say as he went back to his paperwork.

-:-

That night, after they had finished the paperwork, Lena and Ukitake went out to eat. During that time Lena realized that she enjoyed hanging out with her captain. When she got home, after having been walked there by her captain, she changed into her pajamas, sitting by the window staring out over the Seireitei and thinking about her captain. Without realizing it she smiled, a blush coming to her cheeks.

Shocked by her blush and smile her mind went blank. Why had she blushed when thinking about her captain? She looked out the window again, seeing the person she was thinking about walking to his home. She smiled, wondering if he knew that she saw him at that moment, if he could feel her gaze on him. Her lips turned up a little, making her frown and look away from the window and her captain. She glared at the carpet, a sudden thought coming to her head.

Did she love her captain?

* * *

><p>I hope that you liked that! And I don't know if you think that the end is a cliffhanger or not. Leave a review saying if you think it is a cliffhanger or not. Or just leave a review to say what you think. :)<p> 


	11. Chapter 11 More and More and More

Hi! Okay, I've actually have had this finished for a while but I wanted to get more done. You will see why... Soon... :) Please enjoy!

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Bleach or any of its characters, only my OCs. I will not make any money off of this.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Return of the Missing<strong>_

_Chapter 11_ More and More and More Confusions All Around

Lena sighed as she went to the office. She had started wondering if she loved her captain, but how could she know if she did? She had never felt that emotion, so how would she know if she loved him? The only times she _did_ love a person was when she loved them like family, and she knew that this time it didn't feel like that.

So _how_ would she know?

She glanced at her watch, nearly groaning in agony. She would, yet again, be early. Expect this time it would be worse. She would be almost an hour early. She quickly cast her senses out, sensing that Rukia was nearby. Smiling internally she switched her path to go over there.

What Lena didn't realize was that she had about passed Ukitake, but he had noticed her presence and wondered not only why she was earlier than usual but also why she suddenly started walking away.

But what confused Ukitake the most was why it bothered him. He started having thoughts like 'she didn't really care to be around him' fly through his head. Why did it matter what she did? She was, after all, only his lieutenant.

The thought that she should be more went through his head, and this time he shook his head to clear it, starting to head to the office. Being anything more with Lena would be… the thoughts fantastic and great and similar words flew through his head, but he shook his head, thinking that it would be scandalous. Why did he care though, what people thought?

With a sigh Ukitake walked into the office, seeing that he was, of course, the first one to get there. And that was when he realized that Lena had gone off to go somewhere else because it was so early. She had died when she was only fifteen minutes early; if she was almost an hour early she would be dead after five minutes. She would never complain about working, though, or anything else for that matter.

-:-

"Len-len-fukitaicho! What are you doing out so early?" Jared sang as Lena was walking over to where she sensed Rukia was.

"Jared, I couldn't sleep so I gave up. Need more details, or may I go and hang out with Rukia?" She raised an eyebrow, putting her hands on her hips and tapping her foot, frowning. She did _not_ want to deal with him today. Not only was she tired but she was also confused as heck.

"Oh, is my little Len-len on her-" he began, though he never got the chance to finish because Lena hit him hard enough to make him loose his breath. "You are so mean!" He complained. But then he noticed something.

Standing up straight Jared walked over to Lena, standing right in front of her and gripping her shoulders, looking her in the eye and confusing her. "Are you in love with someone?" He asked, slightly freaking her out. But before she could blush or make any noise of agreement or disagreement, what she would have made, he squealed in happiness. "Yay! My Lena is in love!" She raised an eyebrow. His squeal had been a little… feminine.

"What makes you say that?"

"Because. You didn't refuse after a millisecond, though even if you did you would have been in love still." Suddenly Lena felt someone's eye on them, but she decided to ignore it, going on with an idea she suddenly got.

"Jared, I have a question for you." She began, making him confused. He looked at her, waiting for her to ask her question. "Are you gay?" She bluntly asked, making him jerk away and cry in the grass. She gasped for air, laughing at his reaction.

"Lenaaaa! You are cruel!" He pouted, getting angrier at the fact that she was still laughing at him. "We're though." He said, his pouting getting worse when she laughed even harder.

"Sure Jared. Whatever you say." She said between her laughter. She managed to catch her breath, though she was still smiling. "Well, I'm going now. I don't need to be nice anymore so I'm leaving." She said, stopping when suddenly Jared had her leg in his grasp.

"Don't leave me! I'm sorry, please forgive me!" He said, giving her a pleading look. She laughed, patting his head and helping him up.

"Okay, baka brother of mine." She said, sighing and shaking her head. She cast her senses out, realizing that the person who had been watching them was Ukitake. Glancing over she saw him walking over to them, wearing the usual face he had. She walked over to him, ignoring Jared's giggle, giving her even more evidence to prove that he was probably gay. "Hello Ukitake-taicho." She said, greeting him.

"Hello Lena-chan." He responded, smiling at her, making her smile back. Jared watched, amused. Hopefully, Lena realized that she was being a little _too_ friendly for what he deemed normal, even though she was still talking to him politely. Suddenly he thought of something that he 'needed' to do, quickly saying bye to Lena and walking, almost running, off. Lena gave his retreating figure a weird look, wondering why he suddenly just went off quickly.

"That was weird." She muttered, not realizing that Ukitake heard her.

"I take it he doesn't usually do things like that?" he asked, curious.

"Yeah. My baka brother." She muttered, sighing. Ukitake looked confused, and decided to go ahead and ask what he was thinking.

"Was he the one who accidently got you sick?" Lena looked at him, nodding.

"Yeah, he was. But he truly means well… I think…" She said, sighing at what Jared would sometimes do to try to cheer her up. It was insane. She glanced at her watch, seeing what time it was. Time flew by fast, as it was thirty minutes till they had to be at the office.

"Am I boring you?" Ukitake asked, wondering if he should be offended. Startled Lena looked up at him, shaking her head quickly.

"No, I just wanted to know what time it was. I haven't checked the time for a while, so I didn't know if we should start heading over to the office or not. Don't worry- you were not boring me." She said, smiling at him. Ukitake, after a second, smiled back. The reason it took him a second to smile back was because when _she_ had smiled his heart had skipped a beat.

"Okay. How long do we have?" He asked, not liking the way he sounded. Hopefully she didn't notice.

"Around thirty minutes before we have to be there, so about fifteen before we have to start heading that way." She ignored his tone, knowing that he would appreciate that. Because it could be interrupted in any way, the hope that had been in his voice. She, for some reason unknown to her, hoped that it was hope that they had a decent amount of time together before they had to go and be watched by their third seats. She smiled at him, trying to stop her blush from coming, and barely succeeding at doing that.

Lena realized something that she would never admit out loud. _Jared_ was correct. She _was_ in love with someone, that someone being her captain.

-:-

Ukitake sighed that night as he was walking home. He and Lena ended up, after work, going out for dinner again, the second night in a row. Not like he would complain. After all, he had fun hanging out with Lena.

Walking into the Ugendo he sighed yet again, noticing that he had been sighing a lot recently. What should he do? But about what? He was just so confused, and it was actually annoying him. When he went into his room he closed the door, walking over to his window and opening it.

Looking out the window Ukitake took a deep breath of the crisp air, feeling the breeze move his hair. What was he feeling, emotionally? Closing his eyes he let out the breath he didn't know that he was holding. He had no idea. He had never felt like this before, so how _could_ he know what he was feeling. Jerking his eyes opened he had a question run through his mind.

Was it _love_ that he was feeling towards Lena?

* * *

><p>Yeah, I know that this is starting to move fast but oh well! I hope that you enjoyed it! Please review to say your opinions!<p> 


	12. Chapter 12 Suffering and Conclusions

Okay! Here is Chapter 12! I hope that you like this! :)

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Bleach or any oc its characters- still only own my OCs. Still, no money is made off of this.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Return of the Missing<strong>_

_Chapter 12_ Suffering and Conclusions

Lena yawned two days later as she walked to the office. It was a regular Thursday morning in June, so it was already hot. That was partially the reason why Lena was tired- the heat making her have troubles breathing so she couldn't really get to sleep. But the main reason why she was tired could be summed up in only one word.

Ukitake.

She couldn't stop thinking about whether or she really did love him. She thought she did, and had mostly confirmed it. Well, she _had_ confirmed it, at least to herself. And now she was silently going insane. How could she have done that to herself? Because now she had to try to act like she usually did to Ukitake, and then pray that he didn't notice that something was up if she didn't act completely like herself around him.

Because she didn't want to know that he didn't return her feelings. Anyway, how could it really work out? He _was_ her captain, after all. Maybe there was some rule that she didn't know about that captains and lieutenants of the same division couldn't be together… but, for some reason, she really doubted that.

She should probably just calm down and focus on going to the office, even with time to spare.

-:-

"So, Kiyone-chan, how is our plan going?" Jared asked Kiyone thae next day as they met up really quickly, in secret of course.

"Well, from what I can tell it looks like Lena has figured out her emotions, and Ukitake-taicho has started to wonder if he has any towards her in that way." She said, reporting what she had noticed.

"Nice. So, have you played your role well?"

"I have done fantastic! I've been able to let them go on dates every night without Sentaro _once_ jumping down their throats about it!" She boasted, smirking. "What have _you_ done?"

"_I_ came up with the plan, and helped shove Lena in that direction without her even noticing. Quite hard, I should tell you." He said, staring down at her hard.

"Okay, okay. We're tied. Because both of our parts are extremely necessary." She said, deciding not to fight with him. She got all her fighting out with Sentaro so she didn't really fight with others.

The plan that they were talking about was the _Get-Lena-and-Ukitake-Together_ Plan, or the GLAUT Plan for short. Creative name that they had to give it; the title gave away the plan idea.

Not that long after Lena and Ukitake had went on their first date, Jared approached Kiyone with a suggestion. Why don't they get Ukitake and Lena together? They seemed like they would be perfect together. So they had been doing that ever since. And neither even knew that they knew each other.

"So, what should be our next move?" Kiyone asked, both of them jumping when suddenly another person started talking.

"Next move for what?" Lena asked, both of them looking at her, trying not to look guilty.

"Oh, just a plan that we have." Jared said, knowing how to tell the truth in such a way that she would never find all of it out.

"Yeah? A plan for what? And be honest with me." She told them, raising an eyebrow.

"Well, I'll tell you what it is called." Jared said, Kiyone understanding what he meant. Lena nodded, waiting for him to answer. "GLAUT." He said, not saying the letters but saying it as if it was a word.

"Glaut?" She repeated, confused. Jared nodded. "Okay! I'm not going to ask what that is. Instead I'm going to do what I came here for." She turned and looked at Kiyone alone, not seeing the quick smirk that Jared gave Kiyone. "Kiyone-chan, I came to get you. It's already 9:30, should you know." She said, looking at her hard. "Even Sentaro was starting to get worried about you."

"Okay. I'm sorry. I'll go now." Kiyone muttered, getting up and following Lena out.

"That was easy, easier than I thought it would be." Lena said as they walked out, heading to the office. "I thought that I would have to threaten to carry if I had to, but all I had to do was tell you what time it was."

"Were you being serious when you said that Sentaro was starting to worry about me?" She asked, shocked.

"Yeah, we all were." she replied, looking over at her. Kiyone looked at her hard and noticed that, under her normal appearance, was exhaustion. What was making her so tired? Was it the heat? Or something else?

"Are you tired?" She asked, starting to ask questions when Lena nodded. "Is it because of the heat?" Or something else, she silently asked.

"Well, the heat is some of the reason, but I've just been thinking. That's all. Can't shut my brain down to be able to go to sleep." She said, not elaborating even when Kiyone asked what she was thinking about so much.

Kiyone smirked on the inside. It seemed like their plan was going faster than she thought it would take.

-:-

"So, where was she?" Sentaro asked as soon as they got back in the room.

"Well, it seemed like she just lost track of time." Lena replied, walking over to her desk and restarting on her paperwork.

"That doesn't really answer my question." He replied, frowning over at her.

"She was with a friend." She said, not wanting to lie for her but also not wanting to tell all the truth.

"Who?" He asked, wanting to know every little detail.

"You wouldn't know this person."

"Do you know this person?"

"Yes. Went to the academy with me, and apparently they know each other. And no matter how much you ask I won't tell you who it is." She said, stopping his next question.

Ukitake watched amused at how she was dealing with it. But, before anyone noticed that he had watched the whole thing- mainly Lena though-, he went back to his paperwork.

He was confusing himself a lot recently.

Lena glanced at Ukitake from the corner of her eye. Something seemed different about him and his general posture around her, but she might have just been imagining it since she had realized that she loved him.

She looked at the stack of paperwork that she had left to do. She had started working at the same pace as Ukitake, without realizing it, to be able to stay with him the entire day. And they had gained a silent agreement and had started having dinner together every night, much to her happiness. They tried to not go to the same restaurant every night, that way they wouldn't end up getting a bad habit of that. But neither made any move to stop that agreement, making Lena wonder about his feelings… Probably just her imagination acting up with the knowledge that she loved him, and the fact that she kept thinking about it.

-:-

That night after they, predictably, had dinner together again Ukitake ended up walking Lena home, but this time they weren't lucky like they had been every time before and ended up running into Rukia and Ichigo.

"Hello Rukia-chan, Carrot-chan." She said, reminding Ichigo of the nickname she gave him, the one he had let her use. Too late now to make her start calling him 'Captain Kurosaki'.

"Hi Lena-chan, hi Captain Ukitaki." Rukia said, Ichigo saying hi to them and then Ukitake, almost like a line. "So, what are you two doing out?" Rukia finally managed to ask, stopping herself from asking if they were on a date.

"We just ended up having dinner together." Lena said, shrugging. After all, nothing had happened. Rukia nodded, whispering in Lena's ear that it _must_ have been a date. Lena sighed, shaking her head in exasperation at that comment, especially since Rangiku always did that too.

A couple of minutes later, when Rukia and Ichigo were leaving and heading back to their own house Ichigo asked what she whispered and then why. Kiyone had made her, along with that Jared guy.

"So, what did she whisper to you?" Ukitake asked at that same moment.

"Nothing." She muttered, sighing. Ukitake looked at her as they went to Lena's house. "She said that we couldn't have gone on anything expect a date." She shook her head, trying not to wish that it would have been a date.

"I wonder why everyone keeps saying that." Ukitake said, frowning. He did _not_ love her! He did not! But maybe…

"Well, thank you for dinner again and for walking me home." She said as they got to her house. "See you tomorrow." She said, smiling and walking into her house after he had said you're welcome and bye.

Ukitake sighed, walking over to his house. He really did not know why everyone kept saying that they were going on dates. After all, a male and female could go out to eat together and it _not_ be a date, right? But because of that 'date' he had discovered one thing.

He _did_ love Lena.

* * *

><p>Okay! The only reason that Rukia and Ichigo were in this chapter was because I realized that they hadn't been in here for a while. So, please review!<p> 


	13. Chapter 13 Courage

Please enjoy!

**Disclaimer:** Don't own Bleach or any of its characters, only my OCs. Don't make any money off of this.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Return of the Missing<strong>_

_Chapter 13_ Courage

Ukitake signed yet another piece of paper, trying his hardest to not glance at his lieutenant who, like him, was doing paperwork. While admitting to himself that he loved her, which had been around four days ago as it was now Monday, had slightly helped him take a load off his shoulders it also made him feel quite awkward around Lena.

Meanwhile, over at his lieutenant's desk Lena was having the same problem, but she had started trying get the courage up. Not to tell Ukitake, mind you, but to ask Jared for advice. Yes, she was going to ask _Jared_ for advice. Just that morning she had just 'coincidently' run into him and had found it the perfect time to ask him if he had time to talk to her that night, which he did.

So when she got to the office she had told Ukitake that she had something planned that night so they couldn't have dinner together like usual. He had nodded, just accepting it and deciding that this would be the perfect time to cook a meal for himself, as he hadn't done that for a while.

-:-

"So, Len-len-fukitaicho, what do I owe the pleasure of this meeting?" Jared asked that night as they ate some fruit for dessert.

"Jared, I need you to be serious for me. If you can do anything for me, I want you to be serious for me." Lena replied, instantly seeing that happen.

"Okay, Lena-chan. What is on your mind? What do you need help with?" He asked, stopping himself from joking and asking if she was pregnant. After all she had told him to be serious, and, even when he annoyed the heck out of her, she _never_ asked for him to be serious.

"I…" She tried, not really knowing how to say it.

"Do you think you love someone?" He supplied, having a feeling. Plus, he knew his little sister well enough, even though they had only known each other for not even a full year.

"Yeah. I think I love…" she paused, taking a breath and finishing it, "my captain." Jared nodded, understanding to some degree. "I have no idea what to do." She admitted.

He frowned, deep in thought on what to say to her. "Well, be yourself. Maybe he returns your feelings or something." He supplied, trying to think what she would want to say. Lena looked at him sadly.

"I've been trying to act like myself around him, and I think that I have been doing an okay job at doing that. It doesn't seem like Ukitaki-taicho has noticed a thing." She said, frowning in though as well.

"Has he seemed like he has been acting different around you or to you?" Jared asked, wanting to know what _she_ had noticed. After all, she noticed more than most people did.

"Yeah, I think, but I just reasoned it to me looking at him differently because of my new found feelings." She said, trying to defend her own thoughts. Jared laughed half heartedly at her, in a way that was not rude or mean but was comforting.

"Well, maybe he returns the feelings. You'll never know just thinking that he doesn't return them, and don't try to deny it because I know my little sister." He said, hugging her tightly.

"I'll see what I can manage." He looked at her oddly, waiting for her to elaborate. "I mean, I had to force myself to talk to you about this; after all I've been thinking about talking to you about this for about four days now. I think it will take some time before I am ready to go and tell him what I really feel." She admitted, smiling guilty. She had troubles going to people for things, a habit that she had picked up from one of her friends from Zaraki.

"Well, try harder! And maybe my magic eight ball will help." He said, pulling one out of what seemed to be nowhere.

"Um… Okay." Lena said, taking it from Jared. Shaking it she asked if she should tell Ukitake her true feelings, seeing a nod of approval from Jared. She stopped shaking it, looking at the answer in shock.

The magic eight ball had made a new answer, one that she had never seen before or had ever heard of. _Go for it girl! You are crazy to have to ask!_ She stared at it for a minute, finally looking up at Jared.

"Where did you get this?" She asked after a second of hesitation.

"I borrowed it from a friend. I had a feeling that I should bring it with me tonight so I did!" He said enthusiastically. Lena nodded, not wanting to know who he borrowed it from.

Suddenly Jared started humming a random song, starting to annoy Lena. It wasn't as if she hated it when people hummed or anything. It was just that not only was it a song that she hated but he was also majorly tone deaf. After about a minute she yelled at him to stop, making him burst out into laughter.

It was so much fun to annoy Lena.

-:-

"Fantastic news!" Jared said to Kiyone that night as they met up to put together all their data. Kiyone looked at him, wondering what could be so good. She asked what, looking at him while waiting for him to answer. "I talked to Lena, and she _does_ have feelings for Captain Ukitake!" He smirked. "And I didn't even have to do anything to get her to tell me; she told me willingly!" He gloated.

"Show off." Kiyone muttered, shaking her head at her. "But that is a good thing. Did she say that she was going to tell him?" She asked, curious.

"She said that she will try to tell him, but the way she said it we shouldn't expect her to tell him tomorrow." He shook his head, sighing. "She told me that she had been trying to talk to me for around four days before she really did, maybe even longer!"

Kiyone was shocked. "Wow." She managed, not really knowing what else to say about her apparently crazy lieutenant. Jared nodded, in full agreement.

"Yes, that is what I was thinking when she told me that." Kiyone nodded, then realizing something.

"You know, all we really can do now is wait for one of them to make a move, and who know how long that will take." She pointed out, making Jared nod in response.

"Yeah, let's just hope that they don't take too long because I know that I'll probably die of boredom if they do." He sighed, Kiyone doing the same.

Who knew how long this would take.

-:-

Lena sighed as she walked to the office the next day. She had told Jared that she would try to tell Ukitake, but she didn't know when, better yet, _how_. Walking in she saw Ukitake working on paperwork. Giving him a smile, which he returned immediately, she walked over to her desk, starting to work on her own paperwork.

Soon. She'd tell Ukitake that she loved him… soon.

* * *

><p>Hope that you enjoyed that. Please review and tell me what you think.<p> 


	14. Chapter 14 Obsessed

Okay. This chapter is set up different than my usual chapters, as how it how some song lyrics in the beginning. The song that I have the lyrics from is Obsessed by BoA. I _was_ going to call this 'The Definition of Soon', but then I was listening to the song that I mentioned I realized that, in my opinion, it kinda fit for Lena's and Ukitake's situations. Please enjoy the chapter!

**Disclaimer:** I do not own the song Obsessed by BoA. I also do not own Bleach or its characters- only my OCs. Don't make any money off of this.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Return of the Missing<strong>_

_Chapter 14_ Obsessed

_It's a crime, it's a crime, it's a shame, it's a crime_

_I'm climbing the wall, losing my mind, it's all your fault_  
><em>I'm breaking the rule, don't really care if I get caught<em>

_Can't you tell that I'm in love love love_  
><em>Can't get enough of you, need you night and day<em>  
><em>When you're not around I'm tested<em>  
><em>I could get arrested carrying on this way<em>

_I'm going crazy here by myself_  
><em>I want you and no one else<em>  
><em>Sending out a signal of my distress<em>  
><em>I confess, I'm obsessed<em>

Lena hated the word soon. It could mean a thousand different things depending on who was saying it. Apparently, to her, it meant a month. Around a month ago, at the end of June, she decided to tell Ukitake her feelings, but now it was July 28th, and she _still_ hadn't told him.

She really needed to. It was driving her insane. But she was terrified to. She didn't know if she was imagining the difference in him, but as time went she started watching his different reactions that he had around her, and had started wondering… that maybe he _did_ love her. But she was still so terrified that maybe she was just going insane. Well… she was already there.

-:-

Ukitake sighed, something that he realized that he had been doing a lot recently. He just hoped that no one had noticed that, though he suspected that Lena had noticed with how observant she seemed. But he wondered if she had noticed that he, without realizing, had been acting different around her. It wasn't a big difference, neither Sentaro nor Kiyone had noticed, but she had figured out what he was thinking several times when they had not the slightest clue.

He wanted to tell her how he felt towards her, but he really doubted that she returned his feelings. After all she really hadn't acted different then what she did when she first got there. But maybe she could hide it well… or maybe he was thinking that because that is what he wanted to see.

He mentally shook his head, signing another piece of paper and hoping that no one noticed the fact that he was distracted. Out of the corner of his eyes he saw Lena look worriedly at him but, much to his relief, did not say anything. He didn't know what he would have done if she commented on the fact that he had gotten distracted.

Lena looked back down at her paperwork, continuing to work. During one of her habitual glances over at Ukitake she had noticed that he was a bit off, a bit distracted but when he realized that she had noticed and had been worried she decided to not say anything. That would have made his face get redder than a tomato, even though he never blushed. Well, he never had a reason to blush.

She sighed, though she made sure that it was an extremely small one so that no one would notice. She had hoped that she had acted like herself and, so far, no one had told her that she was acting weird. Hopefully they weren't just being nice and she really had succeeded at acting like herself.

-:-

"Lena-chan! Please tell him!" Jared begged her that night. She hadn't expected to see him; she had just gotten home from dinner with Ukitake and there he was!

"I've been trying to, but I don't really know how or when." Lena admitted. Against their knowledge Ukitake was listening to the entire thing, and he didn't know who or what they were talking about.

"You need to tell him how you feel or else I will _force_ you to tell him. And if you doubt that I'd do that then you are kidding yourself." He told her getting a dangerous glint in his eye. Ukitake realized what they meant. They meant that she loved someone and she hadn't told him. He felt jealous, but at the same time he started hoping that it was him. He also felt guilty for eavesdropping on her conversation, so he quickly left, trying to tell himself that he did not hear that conversation.

"I will tell him. Not tonight, mind you. I'll… tell him tomorrow that I want to talk to him and tell him tomorrow night." She said, knowing that this will be the death of her. He squealed, happy, sounding like he was gay. His little Lena was going to _finally_ tell Ukitake how she felt!

"Well, tomorrow night I'm going to make sure that you confessed to him and if you haven't I'll use my threat of forcing you." She gulped, knowing now that there was no way that she could back out of it now.

Jared laughed manically, making a shudder go down Lena's spine. With that laugh he was capable of murder to get what he wanted. "Well, now that we have that settled I'm going to go in my house and because of that little threat that you gave me you are not invited." She said, unlocking her door and going in, ignoring his complaints and closing the door. He tried to go in her house a second later, only to find that the door was locked already. He whined her name through the door, expecting her to take pity and let him in only to realize that she was serious; he wouldn't be going in there.

He smirked, happy that he was going to get his way at long last. Only this time she would benefit more than he would.

-:-

The next day Lena ended up getting to the office about ten minutes later than she usually did. Walking in, out of breath, she apologized about that, blushing brightly when she realized that all eyes were on her. She went over to her desk, immediately starting on paperwork.

This was going to be a long day for Lena. First she was late, then all day she would have to sit around all day thinking about what was to come, and then to end it she would have to tell Ukitake how she felt for him. She was dreading that part because she was afraid of what his reaction would be; no, she was terrified of his reaction.

For once she would admit that was terrified to _death_ of doing something. She could face a horde of thieves from Zaraki and not once stop in defending herself, no hitch in her stop and she would never back down from fear, but the mere thought of telling someone that she loved him she became terrified.

-:-

"Okay! Finished!" Kiyone said at the end of the day after they had all finished with working. She began fighting with Kiyone over something or other- later she would say that Sentaro started it- and they became distracted, going out of the room before Lena and Ukitake had even gotten up. Lena took a deep breath, one that went unnoticed by the other inhabitant.

"So, let's go eat." She said on the let out of a breath. Ukitaki finally noticed that she seemed nervous for some reason or other. He looked at her concerned as they got up to go to the restaurant.

"Are you okay?" He asked, making her blush a little over the fact that he had noticed her nervousness. She should have been relaxed; he probably realized that something was going on now, though it didn't matter now, since she was going to tell him her feelings.

"Yeah, I'm dandy." She said, making him smile in response at her wording. But he also sensed a hint of sarcasm in her tone. What would make her not be fine? Maybe she was going to tell that person she liked that she liked him. Ukitake felt jealous of whoever she liked because he just doubted that it was him. How wrong he was.

"Okay." He said, making sure that he didn't use a different tone than usual. They walked out of the office in an oddly awkward silence that had never been opposed on them before. But both were wondering if the other could tell if they were in love. Both hoped that the other didn't notice but, at the same time, hoped that the other did. And they were both, secretly, obsessed with the other. And it was driving them both insane, neither of them doing anything, but they were, at the same time, terrified of what the other would think and both thought that they were alone in their suffering.

Quite comical for Jared and Kiyone who watched the entire thing.

An hour later they were finished with dinner and Lena had suggested that they go for a walk, that way she would have more time before she got home and so that Jared wouldn't force her to confess. Over dinner she had almost started brining herself to tell him but always stopped before he even noticed something was going on. But now she would have to tell him unless she wanted Jared to force her.

To her luck Ukitake had agreed for the walk, meaning they got to walk along the gardens while the sun was setting; all in all it was extremely romantic, making them both feel awkward. When they were almost finished Lena decided that she had no more time to spare. She took a deep breath and looked at Ukitake, telling him that she had something that she wanted- in her mind she thought that she _needed_ to- tell him.

Ukitake noticed that she looked quite nervous. He wanted to know why, and several different options went through his mind, though he immediately shot them all down, knowing to give her his full attention.

"Well, I've been meaning to tell you this for a while… I just, well, obviously, haven't." He smiled, though it was more of an upward tilt of his lips. "Well… I think…" She took a deep breath and closed her eyes, terrifies of what he would say or what his appearance would be. "I love you." She managed, not opening her eyes still, even though it was now, officially out.

Ukitake stared shocked. She did? He suddenly felt like a complete idiot; the person that she and her friend had been talking about had been _him_. Surprising Lena, and slightly himself, Ukitaki walked forward, hugging her tightly. He felt her stiffen from shock and, something that he couldn't see, her eyes snapped open.

"I love you too." He said, making Lena feel like an idiot. She should have realized that she wasn't imagining that he had started acting different around her. "I, several times, thought that you had noticed that I was unable to continue acting completely like myself. But you never mentioned anything like that." Lena smiled, having just thought about that, and Ukitake felt that.

"You know, I did notice that you were acting different around me, but I always chalked it up to my imagination." She admitted, hearing and feeling him chuckle.

"One thing I wondered, that made me think that you didn't return my feelings, was that you never acted any different than you had before." She smirked, happy that she had succeeded.

"Well, I tried to act as much like myself as I possibly could so that no one would suspect anything." She said, Ukitake sighing. "Several times I thought that I had slipped somehow, though I know I did slip earlier today." She said, the last part of what she said lowered. Ukitake let her go, so that they could see each other's faces and, much to Ukitaki's surprise, he saw that not only was Lena's eyes mostly cast down but she also had a bright blush on her face.

"How long have you wanted to tell me that?" He asked, getting confused when her blush increased.

"Well, a month ago I decided to tell you and I said that I would tell you 'soon'." She shook her head in dismay. "Yeah, took me a while, hunh?" She suddenly thought of something. "So, what are we now? I mean…?" She got confused with her wording and tried again. "Are we… dating?" She said the last word small, worried that she was doing something wrong.

Ukitake nodded. "Yes, if that is okay with you." He said, worried that she wouldn't like that. Lena nodded and, much to Ukitaki's extreme surprise, she risked stepping forward and placing a chaste kiss on his lips, blushing extremely afterwards. Ukitake was shocked for a second before hugging her again, kissing her.

Against their knowledge Kiyone and Jared had watched the entire thing from a decent distance.

"We did fantastic!" Jared celebrated, Kiyone smiling in response.

"Yeah, we did. I can't believe that they actually got together." She said, in awe at that fact, but also happy. While she had loved her captain before she had eventually realized that they were nothing alike, so she always opted to be his best third seat. Hopefully she had succeeded, seeing as how she did just help orchestrate the plan that got him dating Lena.

"So, what should we do?" He asked, putting his arms behind his head and stretching.

"I don't know. I know that I'm going to go back to my place, so you are left to figure out what you wanna do." She said, smirking. He whined, kinda sounding like a five year old, reminding her of a question that she had for him. "So, are you gay or what? 'Cause you're awfully feminine." She said, laughing and shunpoing to her house when he complained.

Back with Lena and Ukitake, they had started heading back to Lena's place, as it was closer and was easier to just hang out with. They were going to have to get used to the whole fact that now, they were more than a captain and lieutenant.

They were now dating.

* * *

><p>Okay! I hope that you enjoyed the chapter! Please leave reviews on wether or not you agree with how the song fits them. If you haven't listened to the song then just tell me what you think. :)<p> 


	15. Chapter 15 Getting Used to the End

Okay! Bet you can guess what the title will mean. If not, well, I won't say. Anyway, please enjoy!

**Disclaimer:** Still don't own Bleach or any of its characters- only OCs. Dont' make any money off of this.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Return of the Missing<strong>_

_Chapter 15_ Getting Used to the End

Lena chewed her bottom lip the next morning, suddenly feeling shy as she prepared to go to the office, though she had to stop because a yawn interrupted her. Ukitake had stayed until one in the morning, and she hadn't been able to get to sleep until two, so she was tired. Hopefully she wouldn't fall asleep during the day.

Sighing, though there was some happiness mixed in with it for once, she glanced over at the picture that she had of her and her brother. Getting up she went over and picked it up, smiling sadly.

"Looks like your little sister is growing up, hunh?" She asked, her brother, as if he could hear her. Setting it down she wiped the tears that had formed in her eyes when she had been thinking about her brother.

She was going to make today be good.

-:-

Lena walked into the office, five minutes before she usually got there. Much to her surprise she beat both of the third seats there. She smiled over at her captain- no, now boyfriend. It would take a while before she was used to that fact.

"Hi." She said, not sure what to call him anymore. He looked up, smiling at her and saying hi back. She walked over to her desk, sitting down and starting on her paperwork. "I'm shocked- I actually beat Kiyone and Sentaro here today."

"Yeah, I'm amazed that they aren't here already." He agreed, seeing as how his third seats were always there what seemed to be a minute after him, if that. Lena nodded, smiling at him, then going back to her paperwork, which he followed suit.

A couple of minutes the silence that had been put on them, not awkward mind you, was interrupted by two loud third seats, who chose then to make their grand entrance. Walking over to the couch they grabbed paperwork, starting to work on it, fighting the whole time.

Lena and Ukitake both sighed quietly, both slightly annoyed at the third seats and their fighting. Did they _have_ to fight all the time?

"So, Lena-chan, how are you this morning?" Kiyone asked, having gotten bored with fighting with Sentaro and getting up to sit closer to her desk.

"I'm fine." Lena replied, glancing up and smiling at her.

"That's good." She replied, trying to think of ways to make either Ukitake or Lena admit that they were dating, though it didn't matter which one did. "So… anything interesting happen last night?" She asked, almost smiling when she realized that there was no way she could get out of this. At least she, that was what she thought, until Sentaro intruded on their conversation.

"What, are you stalking her now? 'Cause it sounds like you want her to say something that you already know the answer to." He said, making both Lena and Ukitake, who had been listening to their conversation but not watching, look amused.

"Stalking me now, hunh, Kiyone-chan?" She said, an amused tone in her voice that made it impossible for Kiyone to _not_ blush.

"No! I'm not!" She said, making Sentaro laugh in disbelief and Lena smile, though she had a feeling that something was untrue. Lena smiled faintly, glad that she wouldn't have to answer the question because of how loaded it was. And, much to her relief, Kiyone got distracted… somehow.

-:-

Lena and Ukitake decided to go out to lunch together that day, something they rarely did. About half way through the meal Lena, out of habit, called Ukitake 'Captain'.

Ukitake smiled at her, making her blush as he corrected her. "We are now dating, so you can call me Jushiro." After a second Lena smiled at him, a blush still on her face as she started saying what she had meant to say.

"So, why do you think Kiyone asked you if anything interesting happened to you last night?" Ukitake finally asked, having been hesitant to ask. Lena frowned, curious.

"I don't know, but I am starting to have a feeling." Lena said, suddenly remembering something. Ukitake looked at her, watching her frown in thought and waiting for her to elaborate. "Remember when Kiyone was extremely late, and I ended up going to get her? Well, I ended up finding her with my brother and, before they realized that I was there Kiyone-chan asked him what their next move would be." Ukitake's eyes widened in shock as Lena continued. "That means that she and my brother are up to something, and that is most likely not good.

"My brother always does what he thinks would be best for me." She said, biting her bottom lip as she thought. "And then when I asked what plan they were talking about he told me 'Glaut'. I thought that it was a word, but it is probably several put together, knowing my brother, so it is G-L-A-U-T." She frowned, having stopped chewing her lip, and thinking, along with Ukitake. "And then he eventually told me to tell you…" She said, Ukitake realizing something.

"How did he know?" He wanted to know. He had not thought anything of the fact that her friend had known, but _how_ had he known?

"Well, I wanted to talk to someone and for some reason I thought that my brother would be the perfect person to do that with." She sighed, thinking. "He told me to tell you how I felt for you..." She muttered to herself, trying to figure it all out. She tried to think like one of her friends from Zaraki, then realizing how hard it was and deciding against it. She put all the pieces of the puzzle together, and then looked at the plan name, the realization of it hitting her. They had been trying to put them together! "Well, with how I figured out the answer was they weren't meaning any harm." She said, not able to find it in her to get mad at either of them. They had just been trying to be nice, or something.

Ukitake looked at her, hoping she would elaborate on what they had been doing but with how she looked he knew that she wouldn't. At that moment they both realized that they were finished, so they paid for the food- well, Ukitake did, which made Lena blush again- and went back to the office. When they got back they, somehow, looked like a couple, or at least they did to Kiyone.

"Wait, are you two dating?" She asked, making Lena blush the brightest red and giving away the answer. Sentaro looked at them, for once shocked speechless.

Ukitake smiled, nodding as they went back to their desks to continue working on paperwork. Sentaro stared, having not realized, at all, that his captain and lieutenant had feelings for each other. Kiyone, who had noticed that, sighed, shaking her head at him, but he didn't quite notice.

"You two are dating?" He asked, making Kiyone raise her eyebrows in response. Lena just smiled, starting to work on her paperwork from where she had left off before lunch, giving them all the cue to also start working on their own paper work.

-:-

Lena smiled as she and Ukitake walked together, his arm wrapped her and hers wrapped around his waist. They had been dating for a month, as it was now August 29th, and she was extremely happy.

"The academy starts up soon, doesn't it?" Lena asked. Not only was she trying to make conversation but she was always curious.

"Yes, it actually starts up in a couple of days, on the second of September, however the first day of class is will be the next day." He said, recalling what they had been told at the last captains meeting, something that several complained out loud about, but every one of them silently agreed that it was pointless.

"Okay." She said, smiling up at him.

"Why did you ask?" He asked, sounding curious.

"Well, I one wanted to start a conversation." She said, making him smile and laugh quietly before she continued. "And also, my friends from Zaraki should be starting school this year." She finished, Ukitake nodding in response. Just at that moment there was a shooting show going through the sky, which Lena noticed and made two things go through her head: one, that it was extremely romantic and two, it was also extremely cheesy, something that both of her friends from Zaraki would say.

"Look!" She said, pointing up with her left hand so that she wouldn't have to let go of Ukitake. He looked up, smiling.

"Don't they say that you now have to make a wish?" He said, recalling a tradition that he had heard of. Lena realized that now she had nothing to wish for, until one thought came into her head.

_'I wish that this would last forever,'_ was her wish. What she didn't realize was that this was the beginning of their 'forever'.

* * *

><p>Okay! Cheesy, hunh? Leave reviews with your opinions.<p> 


	16. Epilogue

**Disclaimer:** Don't own Bleach or any of its characters. Don't make any money off of this.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Return of the Missing<strong>_

_Epilogue_

_Location:_ Outside gates of shinigami academy

_Date:_ September 2nd

A short distance away from the gate was two girls who appeared to be teenagers, who had a noticeable height difference. The shorter one, the obvious leader, had _extremely_ dark, black hair which was up in a bun, her bangs going to her eyebrows and cut unevenly, her cat-yellow eyes showing boredom. The other had light brown hair that went midway down her neck, neon green streaks in her hair, her bangs side-swept with a pin that matched the streaks in her hair, some of her bangs falling into her chocolate brown eyes that shone with excitement.

"So, this is where Lena went, hunh?" The shorter one asked as they got closer to the gate.

Meanwhile, at that second in the Seireitei, Lena sneezed, then wondering if someone was talking about her.

"Yeah, it is!" The other one said almost sarcastically, getting a dark look from the other. After a sigh of aggravation the shorter one smirked.

"This will be fun." She said, putting the sheathed blade of her sword on her shoulder, the other one smiling in glee as they started walking to the academy.

* * *

><p>Hope you enjoyed and I hope I did good with the epilogue. :) Please review!<p> 


	17. Announcement

_**Return of the Missing**_

_Announcement_

Okay people! I know that this story was short, but it was over! I am sorry it was so short (only like 15 chapters and an epilogue) but it really is over! I didn't want this to be too short so I stretched it out as long as I could. Don't know how I did.

But, there is good news! There will be a sequel (I think it will be called Friends of the Missing; cheesy, right?) but it will be more focused on the two people that Lena met in the 80th district. Lena will be in it, of course, and you will learn more about her and see her in the view of her friends but it will be more focused on her friends. I will try to get that up ASAP.

So I hoped that you liked this one enough to continue on to a sequel. Thank you to all my reviewers. Also, as a side note, check out my other story, though it is a bit mature just to warn you. It seems people prefer this story over that one. That one is GinXOC.

People who have reviwed so far, as of 6/17/11 and the chapter they reviewed on:

LaliLali (chapter 4)

Joseeey (chapter 9)

rockbabyval (chapters 1 and 3)

Emerald Tsukino (chapter 9)

TheBeginingsEnd (chapter 10

Ellen-andKeats4eva (chapter 10)

If you have reviewed and your name is not on this list, well thank you for reviewing! I hope that you enjoyed this story!


End file.
